Blake v John Fairfax Publications Limited & Anor [2000] NSWSC 883

New South Wales Supreme Court

CITATION : Blake v John Fairfax Publications Limited & Anor [2000] NSWSC 883 CURRENT JURISDICTION: Common Law FILE NUMBER(S) : SC 20279 of 2000 HEARING DATE(S) : 1 September 2000 JUDGMENT DATE : 1 September 2000

DOMINIC BLAKE (Plaintiff)

v PARTIES : JOHN FAIRFAX PUBLICATIONS LIMITED (First Defendant)

DAVID SYME & CO LIMITED (Second Defendant) JUDGMENT OF : Levine J

R A Campbell (Plaintiff) COUNSEL : W H Nicholas Q.C. (Defendants) Gallagher de Reszke (Plaintiff)

SOLICITORS : Freehills (First Defendant)

Minter Ellison (Second Defendant) CATCHWORDS : Imputations - form - capacity - coincidence with words in matter complained of DECISION : See paragraphs 9 - 17

DLJ: 1 (Ex Tempore - Revised) [2000] NSWSC 883

THE SUPREME COURT OF NEW SOUTH WALES COMMON LAW DIVISION DEFAMATION LIST No. 20279 of 2000

JUSTICE DAVID LEVINE

FRIDAY 1 SEPTEMBER 2000

DOMINIC BLAKE (Plaintiff)

v

John Fairfax Publications Limited (First Defendant)

DAVID SYME & CO LIMITED (Second Defendant)

JUDGMENT (Imputations - form - capacity - coincidence with words in matter complained of)

1 HIS HONOUR: Mr Dominic Blake has instituted proceedings against John Fairfax Publications Pty Limited and David Syme & Co Limited in respect of a publication in what I will describe as the weekend supplement to the publishers' respective newspapers on 17 October 1999. 2 The article upon which Mr Blake sues bears a headline "Help yourself" and its theme, in very general terms, is citizens' arrests. 3 It is the paragraph numbered 3 at the end of the second column that specifically, as part of the whole article as I understand it, is relied upon as giving rise to the pleaded imputations. That paragraph is in the following terms: "Stunned. This is the citizen that went too far. Dominic Blake, of Woolloomooloo, Sydney, caught a 12-year-old boy throwing rocks at his house. He called the police, then used a stun-gun to give the boy electric shocks. Blake, 32, was found guilty of assault, causing actual bodily harm and possessing a prohibited weapon". 4 It can be taken that the imputations pleaded by the plaintiff are as follows: "(a) the plaintiff broke the law by the manner of his performing a citizen's arrest on a twelve year old boy.