Ghosh v TCN Channel Nine Pty Ltd & Ors; Ghosh v Ninemsn Pty Ltd & Ors (No 4) [2014] NSWDC 151

District Court New South Wales

Medium Neutral Citation: Ghosh v TCN Channel Nine Pty Ltd & Ors; Ghosh v Ninemsn Pty Ltd & Ors (No 4) [2014] NSWDC 151 Hearing dates: 10 September 2014 Decision date: 17 September 2014 Jurisdiction: Civil Before: Gibson DCJ Decision: (1) Proceedings dismissed. (2) Plaintiff pay defendants' costs of these proceedings. (3) Liberty to apply in relation to costs. (4) In proceedings 2013/88183, the plaintiff is to file a notice of appearance in 7 days. (5) In proceedings 2013/88183, direct the plaintiff to approach the Registry to update the second and third defendants' details on JusticeLink in 7 days. Catchwords: TORT - defamation - plaintiff brings 54 claims for publications between 2009 and 2013 in eleven successive statements of claim against a series of media defendants and their employees over 18 months - 49 claims struck out in a series of judgments and appeals in New South Wales - similar proceedings in Queensland dismissed for want of prosecution - four of the remaining five publications published to limited recipients - plaintiff's failure to answer requests for particulars of the statements of claim - deficient pleas of publication, aggravated and special damages - current pleading still unsatisfactory - whether plaintiff's conduct of the litigation demonstrates "arrant disregard" of the court process (Templar v Britton (No 2) [2014] NSWSC 587 at [37]) - Dank v Cronulla Sutherland District Rugby League Football Club Ltd [2014] NSWCA 288 - whether proceedings should be struck out as an abuse of process pursuant to rr 12.7 and 13.4 Uniform Civil Procedure Rules 2005 (NSW) due to the plaintiff's failure to prosecute the proceedings with dispatch - proportionality - ss 56 - 62 and 67 Civil Procedure Act 2005 (NSW) - Bleyer v Google Inc [2014] NSWSC 897 - whether the proceedings should be struck out on the basis that the plaintiff's failure to comply with court directions renders the proceedings an abuse of process, in the sense that the interest at stake is disproportionate to the resources of the Court and of the parties that will have to be expended to determine the plaintiff's claim - proceedings struck out pursuant to r 12.7 Uniform Civil Procedure Rules 2005 (NSW) and ss 60, 61 and 67 Civil Procedure Act 2005 (NSW) Legislation Cited: Civil Procedure Act 2005 (NSW), ss 56 - 62 and 67 Criminal Law Consolidation Act 1935 (SA), s 257 Defamation Act 1974 (NSW), s 3(d) Defamation Act 2005 (NSW), ss 23, 33 and 40 Legal Profession Act 2004 (NSW), s 347 Uniform Civil Procedure Rules 2005 (NSW), rr 12.7, 13.4, 13.5, 14.28 and 14.30 Cases Cited: Ainsworth v Burden [2005] NSWSC 338 Ainsworth v Burden [2005] NSWCA 174 Al-Shennag v Woodcock [2013] NSWSC 696 Attorney-General v Altaranesi [2013] NSWSC 63 Australian Broadcasting Corporation v Waterhouse (1991) 25 NSWLR 519 Barach v University of New South Wales [2011] NSWSC 431 Bellingen Shire Council v Colavon Pty Ltd [2012] NSWCA 34 Bi v Mourad [2010] NSWCA 17 Bleyer v Google Inc [2014] NSWSC 897 Bristow v Adams [2012] NSWCA 166 Buckeridge v Walter [2006] WASCA 22 Calabro v Zappia [2010] NSWDC 127 Cush v Dillon; Boland v Dillon (2011) 243 CLR 298 Dow Jones & Co Inc v Gutnick (2002) 210 CLR 575 Dow Jones & Co Inc v Jameel [2005] EWCA Civ 75; [2005] QB 46 Walter v Buckeridge (No 4) [2011] WASC 313 Cerutti v Crestside Pty Ltd [2013] QCA 33 Coren v Master Builders Association of New South Wales Pty Ltd [2014] NSWCA 244 Dank v Cronulla-Sutherland District Rugby League Football Club Ltd (No 3) [2013] NSWSC 1850 Dank v Cronulla Sutherland District Rugby League Football Club Ltd [2014] NSWCA 288 Dennis v Australian Broadcasting Corporation [2008] NSWCA 37 Emanuele v Hedley (Supreme Court of the Australian Capital Territory, Higgins J, 7 March 1997) Fairfax Media Publications Pty Ltd v Cummings [2012] ACTCA 36 Favell v Queensland Newspapers [2005] HCA 52 Ghosh and Anor v NBN Ltd and Ors [2014] QCA 53 Ghosh v Ninemsn Pty Ltd & Ors [2013] NSWDC 63 Ghosh v Ninemsn Pty Ltd & Ors (No 2) [2013] NSWDC 145 Ghosh v Ninemsn Pty Ltd & Ors (No 3) [2013] NSWDC 206 Ghosh and Anor v NBN Ltd and Ors [2014] QCA 53 Ghosh v NineMSN Pty Ltd [2014] NSWCA 180 Goldsmith v Sandilands [2002] HCA 31 Gray v John Fairfax Publications Pty Ltd [2007] WASC 274 Grizonic v Suttor [2008] NSWSC 914 Habib v Radio 2UE Sydney Pty Ltd [2009] NSWCA 231 Hamzy v Commissioner of Corrective Services (2011) 80 NSWLR 296 Hanshaw v Seven Network (Operations) Ltd [2014] NSWSC 623 Harrigan v Jones [2000] NSWSC 814 Herron v McGregor (1986) 6 NSWLR 246 Hoser v Hartcher [1999] NSWSC 527 Johnson v Gore Wood & Co (a firm) [2002] 2 AC 1 Jones & Anor v TCN Channel Nine Pty Ltd (1996) 26 NSWLR 732 Jones v Sutton (No 2) [2005] NSWCA 203 Kirby v Sanderson Motors Pty Ltd (2001) 54 NSWLR 135 Lemoto v Able Technical Pty Ltd (2005) 63 NSWLR 300 Lighthouse Forward Planning Pty Ltd v Queensland Newspapers Pty Ltd [2014] QSC 217 Manefield v Child Care NSW [2010] NSWSC 1420 Maple v David Syme & Co Ltd [1975] 1 NSWLR 97 Maynes v Casey [2011] NSWCA 156 McGrane v Channel Seven Sydney Pty Ltd [2012] QSC 133 Miller v Associated Newspapers Ltd [2012] EWHC 3721 (QB) RB (Algeria) v Secretary of State for the Home Department [2010] 2 AC 110 Sands v State of South Australia [2013] SASC 44 Schellenberg v British Broadcasting Commission [2000] EMLR 296 Smith v Marshall [2014] WASC 185 Spencer v Commonwealth (2010) 241 CLR 118 Templar v Britton (No 2) [2014] NSWSC 587 Tey v Optima Financial Group Pty Ltd [2010] WASCA 219 Thomson v Lambert [1938] 2 DLR 545 Vizovitis v Ryan [2012] ACTSC 155 Wallis v Valentine [2002] EWCA Civ 1034 Walton v Gardiner (1993) 177 CLR 378 Younan v Nationwide News Pty Ltd [2013] NSWCA 33 Texts Cited: "A comparative Study of Defamation Costs Across Europe", Oxford University, 2008 Mr G Reid MLA, NSW Hansard (11 October 2003, p. 4027) Mr N Newell MLA, Hansard, (11 March 2004, p. 7134) Mr D Barr MLA, Hansard (12 October 2005, p 18,518) Practice Note No SC CL 4, Supreme Court Common Law Division - Defamation List (5 September 2014) Category: Principal judgment Parties: Plaintiff: Ratna Ghosh First Defendant: TCN Channel Nine Pty Ltd Second Defendant: Nine Network Australia Ltd Third Defendant: Ninemsn Pty Ltd (ACN 077 753 461) Fourth Defendant: NBN Limited (ACN 000 232 486) Fifth Defendant: Katie Gregory Representation: Plaintiff: Mr C J Dibb Defendants: Mrs L E Barnett Plaintiff: Carters Law Firm Defendants: Johnson Winter & Slattery File Number(s): 2014/63022 consolidated with 2013/88183 Publication restriction: None