NSW Caselaw
Reported Decision : [2001] Aust Torts Reports 81-611
New South Wales Supreme Court CITATION : Assaf v Skalkos [1999] NSWSC 1332 CURRENT JURISDICTION : Common Law Division FILE NUMBER(S) : 18374/99 HEARING DATE(S) : 01/11/99-17/12/99 JUDGMENT DATE : 7 December 1999
PARTIES : Joseph Assaf & Anor v Theodore Skalkos & Anor JUDGMENT OF : Carruthers AJ at 1
COUNSEL : T E F Hughes QC/K Rees (Plaintiffs) S M Littlemore QC/J R McKenzie (Defendants) SOLICITORS : Mallesons Stephen Jaques (Plaintiffs) T Lazaropoulos (Defendants) CATCHWORDS : Defamation - pleadings - defence of unlikelihood of harm - application by plaintiffs for defence to be taken away from the jury. ACTS CITED : Defamation Act 1974; Defamation Act 1958; Defamation Act 1912;Evidence Act 1995. CASES CITED : Morosi v Mirror Newspapers Limited [1977] 2 NSWLR 749; Chappell v Mirror Newspapers Limited (1984) Aust Torts Reports 80-691; King & Mergen Holdings Pty Ltd v McKenzie [1991] 24 NSWLR 305; Warren v Warren [1834] I C.M. & R 250; Shipley v Todhunter [1836] 7 C & P 680; New South Wales Aboriginal Council v Perkins (Unreported) CLD11262/91, 15 August 1997. DECISION : Application granted. See paras 65 and 82.
THE SUPREME COURT OF NEW SOUTH WALES COMMON LAW DIVISION CARRUTHERS AJ
Tuesday, 7 December 1999
CLD18374/93 Joseph ASSAF & ANOR v Theodore SKALKOS & ANOR EX TEMPORE JUDGMENT - Application by the Plaintiffs under s13 Defamation Act 1974 1 HIS HONOUR: It is necessary that I rule upon an application by the plaintiffs that the defences under s13 of the Defamation Act, 1974, in relation to both publications be taken away from the jury. 2 Section 13 is in the following terms: "Unlikelihood of harm." It is a defence that the circumstances of the publication of the matter complained of were such that the person defamed was not likely to suffer harm." 3 There seem to be three leading authorities on the section. It was considered by the Court of Appeal in Morosi v Mirror Newspapers Limited [1977] 2 NSWLR 749. where the Court said 2 NSWLR 749 at 800.:
We try to embed the page this law was scraped from. If the site blocks framing, you still get the link and a local excerpt.
Last checked with source on —
Checking whether the official page can be embedded…
Plain-English simplify of this law: a short summary, key points, and both sides of the argument. Generated on first view via Replicate, then cached. Vote on what helps your study.
No study brief is cached for this law yet. Sign up to generate a plain-English brief.
Sign up to generate