Hill v Westfield & Anor [2003] NSWSC 437

New South Wales Supreme Court

CITATION : Hill v Westfield & Anor [2003] NSWSC 437 HEARING DATE(S) : 20 May 2003 JUDGMENT DATE : 13 June 2003

JUDGMENT OF : Simpson J DECISION : (i) proceedings 20565 of 2002 - (A) imputation (d) struck out (B) the plaintiff to elect as to which of imputations (c), (f) and (g) he wishes to pursue (C) plaintiff granted leave to file an amended statement of claim; (ii) proceedings 20023 of 2003 - (A) imputations (a), (b) and (c) struck out (B) plaintiff granted leave to file an amended statement of claim.

CATCHWORDS : defamation - imputations - difference in substance - incapable of being conveyed LEGISLATION CITED : Supreme Court Rules Part 67 Rule 11(3) CASES CITED : Greek Herald Pty Ld v Nikolopolous [2002] NSWCA 41; 54 NSWLR 165 Reader's Digest Services Pty Ltd v Lamb (1982) 150 CLR 500 Geoffrey Hill - Plaintiff/ Respondent PARTIES : Mark Westfield - First Defendant/ Applicant Nationwide News Pty Ltd - Second Defendant/ Applicant FILE NUMBER(S) : SC 20565/02; 20023/03 COUNSEL : BR McClintock SC - Plaintiff/ Respondent TD Blackburn - Defendants/ Applicants SOLICITORS : Aleco Vrisakis - Plaintiff/ Respondent Blake Dawson Waldron - Defendants/ Applicants

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

SIMPSON J

Friday 13 June 2003

20565/02 Geoffrey Hill v Mark Westfield & Anor 20023/03

JUDGMENT 1 HER HONOUR: Two proceedings (numbered 20565 of 2002 and 20023 of 2003) are before the court. In each the plaintiff, Geoffrey Hill, claims damages against the defendants, Mark Westfield and Nationwide News Pty Ltd, alleging that he was defamed by them in an article in The Australian newspaper, of which the second defendant was the publisher and the first defendant a journalist employed by the second defendant, in issues published, respectively, on 3 December 2002 and 15 January 2003. Both articles concern a Royal Commission into the well publicised collapse of a major insurance company, HIH.