Eppinga v Kalil [2023] NSWCA 287

Court of Appeal Supreme Court New South Wales Medium Neutral Citation: Eppinga v Kalil [2023] NSWCA 287 Hearing dates: 20 November 2023 Date of orders: 1 December 2023 Decision date: 01 December 2023 Before: Payne JA at [1]; Kirk JA at [105]; Stern JA at [106] Decision: (1) Leave to appeal granted; (2) Appeal dismissed; (3) Appellant to pay the respondents' costs of the application for leave and the appeal. Catchwords: DEFAMATION – defamatory matter – capacity to convey pleaded imputations DEFAMATION – online publication – Facebook post – extent of publication – where proof of publication to only two online readers – relevance to damages DEFAMATION – defences – common law qualified privilege –reply to online attack – where parties agreed matter complained of was published on occasion of privilege and was sufficiently connected to the occasion of privilege – malice – where witness and contemporaneous documents demonstrated publisher's state of mind – whether appellant discharged burden of proving malice Legislation Cited: Civil Procedure Act 2005 (NSW) s 99 Defamation Act 2005 (NSW) ss 10A, 30 Evidence Act 1995 (NSW) s 91 Cases Cited: Adam v Ward [1917] AC 309 ASIC v Hellicar (2012) 247 CLR 345; [2012] HCA 17 Bashford v Information Australia (Newsletters) Pty Ltd (2004) 218 CLR 366; [2004] HCA 5 Boensch v Pascoe (2019) 268 CLR 593; [2019] HCA 49 Briginshaw v Briginshaw (1938) 60 CLR 336 Bristow v Adams [2012] NSWCA 166 Browne v Dunn (1893) 6 R 67 Cush v Dillon (2011) 243 CLR 298; [2011] HCA 30 Fox v Percy (2003) 214 CLR 118; [2003] HCA 22 Fraser v Holmes [2009] NSWCA 36; 253 ALR 538 Jones v Dunkel (1959) 101 CLR 298 King v Muriniti [2018] NSWCA 9 KSMC Holdings Pty Ltd t/as Hubba Bubba Childcare on Haig v Bowden [2020] NSWCA 28 Kuru v State of New South Wales (2008) 236 CLR 1; [2008] HCA 26 Lee v Lee (2019) 266 CLR 129; [2019] HCA 28 Ling v Pang [2023] NSWCA 112 Loveday v Sun Newspapers Ltd (1938) 59 CLR 503 LVMH Watch & Jewellery Australia Pty Ltd v Michael Lassanah & Ors [2011] NSWCA 370 Muriniti v Kalil [2022] NSWCA 109 Murray v Raynor [2019] NSWCA 274 Payne v Parker [1976] 1 NSWLR 191 Reader's Digest Services Pty Ltd v Lamb (1982) 150 CLR 500 Category: Principal judgment Parties: Ellie Rose Eppinga (appellant) Mahmoud Kalil (first respondent) Magda Kalil (second respondent) Representation: Counsel: LC Muriniti, solicitor (appellant) K Smark SC (first and second respondents)