Ahmed v Nationwide News Pty Ltd [2010] NSWDC 183

New South Wales District Court

CITATION: Ahmed v Nationwide News Pty Ltd [2010] NSWDC 183

HEARING DATE(S): 20 August 2010

JUDGMENT DATE: 20 August 2010

JURISDICTION: Civil

JUDGMENT OF: Gibson DCJ

(1) Subject to order 2, application to strike out imputations (a) – (f) dismissed. (2) The plaintiff is to file and serve by 4 p.m. Wednesday 25 August 2010 an amended statement of claim pleading imputations (c) and (d) as alternatives. DECISION: (3) The defendant is to pay the plaintiff's costs. (4) Defence to the amended statement of claim to be filed and served by 4 p.m. Thursday 9 September 2010. (5) These proceedings to be listed for directions for the hearing of the consolidation motion and the Court's own motion to dispense with the jury at a time convenient to the Defamation List Judge. (6) Note that the Notice of Motion is, at the request of the parties, technically part heard before Gibson DCJ but that any consolidation argument may not be brought for some time and the parties have liberty to apply before any other judge of this court as they see fit.

CATCHWORDS: TORT - defamation - imputations - form and capacity

LEGISLATION CITED: Defamation Act 2005 (NSW), s 21(3)

Ahmed v John Fairfax Publications Pty Ltd [2006] NSWCA 6 Armitage v Double Bay Newspapers Pty Ltd (Supreme Court of New South Wales, Hunt J, 26 September 1991, unreported) Bleyer v TCN Channel Nine Pty Ltd (Supreme Court of NSW, Hunt J, 7 June 1989) Briggs v Reid [2000] NSWSC 496 Charleston v News Group Newspapers [1995] 2 AC 65 Drummoyne Municipal Council v Australian Broadcasting Corporation (1990) 21 NSWLR 135 Ezzo v Grille [2004] NSWSC 670 Favell v Queensland Newspapers Pty Ltd (2005) 79 ALJR 1716 Forrest v Askew [2007] WASC 161 Gascoine v McGinty (1995) 14 WAR 542 Hayson v John Fairfax Publications Pty Ltd [2007] NSWSC 763 CASES CITED: Hepburn v TCN Channel Nine Pty Ltd [1983] 2 NSWLR 682 Jackson v TCN Channel Nine Pty Ltd (Levine J, 17 October 1996, unreported) John Fairfax & Sons Pty Ltd v Blake [2001] 53 NSWLR 541 John Fairfax & Sons Pty Ltd v Foord (1988) 12 NSWLR 706 Ma Ching Kwan v John Fairfax Publications (New South Wales Court of Appeal, 30 July 1998, unreported) Mahommed v Channel Seven Sydney Pty Limited [2006] NSWCA 213 Malcolm v Nationwide News Pty Ltd [2007] NSWCA 254 McCormick v John Fairfax & Sons Pty Ltd (1989) 16 NSWLR 485 Medford v Nationwide News Pty Ltd [2007] WASC 52 Morris v Newcastle Newspapers (1985) 1 NSWLR 260 Piggins v Denton [2006] NSWSC 954 Trkjula v Google Australia Pty Ltd [2010] VSC 226 Trkulja v Yahoo! Inc & Anor [2010] VSC 215