Mundine v Brown (No 4) [2010] NSWSC 516

New South Wales Supreme Court

CITATION : Mundine v Brown (No 4) [2010] NSWSC 516

HEARING DATE(S) : 10 May - 1 June 2010

JUDGMENT DATE : 20 May 2010

JUDGMENT OF : Harrison J

DECISION : Issue of publication by the second defendant of the matter complained of taken from the jury.

CATCHWORDS : JURIES – defamation – publication – whether evidence of publication by second defendant of matter complained of sufficient to satisfy jury, accepting plaintiff's evidence and disregarding all evidence to the contrary, that plaintiff's claim of publication by second defendant has more probably than not been established – whether evidence no more than a mere scintilla or only capable of giving rise to surmise or conjecture – test not satisfied - issue taken from jury.

LEGISLATION CITED : Defamation Act 2005 Printing and Newspapers Act 1973

CATEGORY : Procedural and other rulings

Greig v WIN Television NSW Pty Ltd [2009] NSWSC 632 CASES CITED : McKenzie v Mervyn Holdings Pty Ltd (1990) 20 NSWLR 42 Palace Films Pty Ltd v Fairfax Media Publications Pty Ltd [2010] NSWSC 415 Webb v Bloch [1928] HCA 50; (1928) 41 CLR 331

Lana Mundine (Plaintiff) PARTIES : Avery Brown (First Defendant) APN News and Media Limited (Second Defendant) Daily Examiner Pty Ltd (Third Defendant)

FILE NUMBER(S) : SC 2009/296431

T Molomby SC with R K M Rasmussen (Plaintiff) COUNSEL : P M Sibtain (First Defendant) A T S Dawson (Second and Third Defendants)

Slater & Gordon (Plaintiff) SOLICITORS : Holding Redlich (First Defendant) Banki Haddock Fiora (Second and Third Defendants)