Green v Schneller [2000] NSWSC 550

New South Wales Supreme Court

CITATION : Green v Schneller [2000] NSWSC 550 CURRENT JURISDICTION: Common Law FILE NUMBER(S) : SC 20386/94 HEARING DATE(S) : 1 February 1999 JUDGMENT DATE : 19 June 2000

PARTIES : Richard GREEN (Plaintiff) Jennifer SCHNELLER (Defendfant) JUDGMENT OF : Simpson J at 1

COUNSEL : Mr J Cummins, QC with Mr R A Campbell - Plaintiff Mr C Evatt with Mr M Rollinson - Defendant SOLICITORS : Patrick Grimes & Co - Plaintiff Dennis & Co - Defendant DECISION : Leave granted to the plaintiff to reformulate Imputation (a); Leave granted to the plaintiff to reformulate Imputation (b) to deal with the objection.; Imputation (c) is conveyed by the matter complained of.; The words attributed to the defendant convey Imputation (d).

THE SUPREME COURT OF NEW SOUTH WALES COMMON LAW DIVISION DEFAMATION

SIMPSON J

Monday 19 June 2000

20386/94 Richard GREEN v Jennifer SCHNELLER Interlocutory Judgment whether imputations pleaded were conveyed

HER HONOUR : 1 The matter complained of is the content of an interview given by the defendant and broadcast on a national television program entitled "Real Life" on 9 March 1994. The transcript of the interview is not in dispute and is annexed to these reasons. The defendant has tendered in evidence an additional short passage containing remarks made by her, which were telecast at the beginning of the programme, five or six minutes prior to the commencement of the broadcast of the interview the subject of the proceedings. There is at present no evidence as to when, in relation to the interview given by the defendant, she made those additional remarks. For present purposes it is immaterial. The present question is confined to whether the matter complained of conveys the imputations pleaded by the plaintiff 2 The additional passage which must be added to the matter complained of for that purpose is as follows: "I think he behaved unreasonably. I wouldn't say he's an unreasonable man." 3 The broadcast of that statement was separated from the broadcast of the bulk of the interview by a period of five or six minutes, during which at least two commercials and a story on a different subject were broadcast. 4 The imputations pleaded by the plaintiff are: "(a) the Plaintiff is a dangerous maniac in that the most trivial events cause him to snap and seek to inflict violence on his neighbours;