Bateman v Fairfax Media Publications Pty Ltd (No 3) [2014] NSWSC 1601

Supreme Court New South Wales

Medium Neutral Citation: Bateman v Fairfax Media Publications Pty Ltd (No 3) [2014] NSWSC 1601 Hearing dates: 8 April 2014 Decision date: 14 November 2014 Before: McCallum J Decision: Contextual imputations struck out Catchwords: DEFAMATION - defences - defence of contextual truth under s 26 of the Defamation Act 2005 - content of requirement that a defendant's contextual imputation be an "other" imputation arising "in addition to" the imputations of which the plaintiff complains - whether statute imposes any further requirement beyond the requirement that the imputation differ in substance from the plaintiff's imputations Legislation Cited: Criminal Procedure Act 1986, s 132(5) Defamation Act 1974, ss 9, 16 Defamation Act 2005, ss 8, 18, 25, 26, 30 Uniform Civil Procedure Rules 2005, r14.30(2) Cases Cited: Allen v John Fairfax & Sons (Supreme Court of New South Wales, Hunt J, 2 December 1988, unreported). Ange v Fairfax Media Publications Pty Ltd [2010] NSWSC 645 Bateman v Fairfax Media Publications Pty Ltd [2014] NSWSC 400 Bateman v Fairfax Media Publications Pty Ltd (No 2) [2014] NSWSC 1380 Besser v Kermode [2011] NSWCA 174; (2011) 81 NSWLR 157 Con Ange v Fairfax Media Publications Pty Ltd [2011] NSWSC 204 Drummoyne Municipal Council v Australian Broadcasting Corporation (1990) 21 NSWLR 135 Ives v The State of Western Australia (No 8) [2013] WASC 277 John Fairfax Publications Pty Ltd v Jones [2004] NSWCA 205 Jones v TCN Channel Nine Pty Ltd [2014] NSWSC 1453 Kelly v Harbour Radio [2013] NSWSC 9 King v Fairfax Media Publications Pty Ltd (No 2) [2014] NSWSC 1244 Liu v Fairfax Media Publications [2013] NSWSC 7 Plato Films Ltd v Speidel [1961] AC 1090 Tauaifaga v TCN Channel 9 Pty Limited [2013] NSWSC 8 Category: Interlocutory applications Parties: Edmund Thomas Gregory Bateman (first plaintiff) Idameneo (No 123) Pty Limited (second plaintiff) Fairfax Media Publications Pty Limited (first defendant) Fairfax Digital Australia & New Zealand Pty Limited (second defendant) Natashia Wallace (third defendant) Vanda Carson (fourth defendant) Jeremy Cumpston (fifth defendant) Representation: Counsel: B McClintock SC, S Chrysanthou (plaintiffs) ATS Dawson (defendants) Solicitors: Gilbert & Tobin Lawyers (plaintiffs) Banki Haddock Fiora (defendants) File Number(s): 2013/203163 Publication restriction: None