Woolf v Brandt (No 2) [2023] NSWDC 184

District Court New South Wales

Medium Neutral Citation: Woolf v Brandt (No 2) [2023] NSWDC 184 Hearing dates: 25 May 2023 Date of orders: 07 June 2023 Decision date: 07 June 2023 Jurisdiction: Civil Before: Gibson DCJ Decision: (1) The plaintiff's claim for defamation for the publication made on 11 May 2021 is struck out and the proceedings are dismissed. (2) The plaintiff is to pay the defendant's costs of the proceedings unless otherwise ordered previously. (3) The affidavits and submissions relied upon by the parties are to remain with the file until further order. Catchwords: TORT – defamation – two Facebook posts made after relationship between plaintiff and defendant ended – second matter complained of struck out pursuant to s 12B(3) of the Defamation Act 2005 (NSW) – remaining publication online for 10 days, with 3 downloadings – defendant brings application for summary dismissal – whether proceedings an abuse of process – whether proceedings brought to vindicate reputation or for an ancillary dominant improper purpose, namely as part of an ongoing vendetta – whether the asserted strength of the evidence of justification warrants summary dismissal – proportionality – whether plaintiff breached Uniform Civil Procedure Rules 2005 (NSW) r 12.11 by not informing the court that the limitation period had expired – whether defendant was estopped from bringing this application because it should have been brought at the same time as his earlier application to strike out this cause of action on other grounds – whether plaintiff entitled to ask the court to revisit the striking out of the second matter complained of – proceedings dismissed as an abuse of process Legislation Cited: Civil Procedure Act 2005 (NSW), s 56 Crimes Act 1900 (NSW), ss 102, 300(1)(a)(b), 319, 328 Crimes (Domestic and Personal Violence) Act 2007 (NSW), s 13(1) Defamation Act 1974 (NSW), s 50(4) Defamation Act 2005 (NSW), s 12B Defamation Act 2013 (UK) c 26, s 1 Evidence Act 1995 (NSW), s 135 Migration Act 1958 (Cth), s 285(1) Uniform Civil Procedure Rules 2005 (NSW), rr 12.11, 13.4, 14.28 Cases Cited: Aleksandrov v Dimovski [2005] NSWDC 19 Australian Broadcasting Corporation v Chau Chak Wing [2019] FCAFC 125 Bleyer v Google Inc (2014) 88 NSWLR 670 Coren v Master Builders Association of New South Wales Pty Ltd [2014] NSWCA 244 Dank v Nationwide News Pty Ltd [2016] NSWSC 295 Depp v News Group Newspapers Ltd [2020] EWHC 2911 (QB) Depp v News Group Newspapers Ltd [2021] EWCA Civ 423 Dow Jones & Co Inc v Jameel (Yousef Abdul Latif) [2005] EWCA Civ 75 Elton v Cavill (1994) 34 NSWLR 289 Feldman v The Daily Beast Company LLC [2017] NSWSC 831 Fogarty v Nationwide News Pty Ltd [2013] WASC 477 Habib v Radio 2UE Sydney Pty Ltd [2009] NSWCA 231 Hanna v Maks [2003] NSWSC 158 Heytesbury Holdings Pty Ltd v City of Subiaco (1998) 19 WAR 440 Kingsfield Holdings Pty Ltd v Sullivan Commercial Pty Ltd [2013] WASC 347 Leerdam v Noori [2009] NSWCA 90; (2009) 255 ALR 553; 227 FLR 210 MacDonald v Australian Broadcasting Corporation [2014] NSWSC 1472 Massoud v Nationwide News Pty Ltd; Massoud v Fox Sports Australia Pty Ltd [2022] NSWCA 150 Port of Melbourne Authority v Anshun Pty Ltd (1980) 147 CLR 35; [1980] HCA 41 R v Brown [1994] 1 AC 212 Rayney v The State of Western Australia [No 4] [2022] WASCA 44 Re Luck [2003] HCA 70; 203 ALJ 1 Roberts-Smith v Fairfax Media Publications Pty Limited (No 41) [2023] FCA 555 Robinson v State of New South Wales [2021] NSWSC 1571 Rock v Henderson [2021] NSWCA 155 Saraceni v Mentha [2013] WASC 95 Thomas A Edison Ltd v Bullock (1912) 15 CLR 679 Town & Country Sport Resorts (Holdings) Pty Ltd v Partnership Pacific Ltd (1988) 20 FCR 540 Ugur v Attorney General for New South Wales [2019] NSWCA 86 Wallis v Valentine [2002] EWCA Civ 1034; [2003] EMLR 8 Weston in Capacity as Special Purpose Liquidator of One.Tel Ltd (in liq) v Publishing & Broadcasting Ltd (2012) 88 ACSR 80 Williams v Spautz (1992) 174 CLR 509 Wollongong City Council v Papadopoulos [2019] NSWCA 178 Woolf v Brandt [2022] NSWDC 623 Young v Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals New South Wales [2020] NSWCA 360 Texts Cited: Nil Category: Procedural rulings Parties: Richard Farrell Woolf (plaintiff) Nicholas Brandt (defendant) Representation: Counsel: Mr R Rasmussen (plaintiff) Mr T Smartt (defendant)