Tucker v Echo Publications P/L [2001] NSWSC 239

New South Wales Supreme Court

CITATION : Tucker v Echo Publications P/L [2001] NSWSC 239 CURRENT JURISDICTION: Common Law Division Defamation List FILE NUMBER(S) : SC 20472/00 HEARING DATE(S) : 30/03/2001 JUDGMENT DATE : 5 April 2001

Ross Tucker (1st Pl) PARTIES : Harold Ross (2nd Pl) Echo Publications Pty Limited (1st Def) Fast Buck$ (aka John Anderson) (2nd Def) JUDGMENT OF : Kirby J

M White (Pls) COUNSEL : B Connell (1st Def) K P Smark (2nd Def) SOLICITORS : Elliot & Sochacki (Pls) Bush Burke & Company (Defs) CATCHWORDS : DEFAMATION - Capacity of publication to give rise to imputations - Whether imputations differ in substance Bishop v Latimer (1861) 4 LT(NS) 775 CASES CITED : Singleton v John Fairfax & Sons Pty Limited (unreported, 20.2.80) Morosi v Mirror Newspapers Limited (1977) 2 NSWLC 749 DECISION : Ref para 24

THE SUPREME COURT OF NEW SOUTH WALES COMMON LAW DIVISION DEFAMATION LIST

KIRBY J

Thursday 5 April 2001

20472/00 - Ross Tucker & Anor -v- Echo Publications Pty Limited ACN 004.000.239 & Anor

JUDGMENT

1 HIS HONOUR: Mr Ross Tucker (the first plaintiff) and Mr Harold Ross (the second plaintiff) are directors of Comptran Pty Limited, the publishers of The Saturday Star. Mr Tucker is also an elected Councillor of the Byron Shire Council. 2 On 7 December 1999, Fast Buck$ (the second defendant) published a paid advertisement in The Byron Shire Echo, a newspaper published by the first defendant (Echo Publications Pty Limited). The advertisement was in these terms: "Advertisement 'The ethics of journalism by Fast Buck $'