Zeccola v Fairfax Media Publications Pty Ltd (No 3) [2015] NSWSC 1007

Supreme Court New South Wales

Medium Neutral Citation: Zeccola v Fairfax Media Publications Pty Ltd (No 3) [2015] NSWSC 1007 Hearing dates: 6 July 2015 Date of orders: 08 July 2015 Decision date: 08 July 2015 Jurisdiction: Common Law Before: McCallum J Decision: Proceedings against second defendant dismissed; plaintiffs to pay second defendant's costs of the proceedings from 4 April 2014; plaintiff's oral application to stay dismissal order pending further amendment and interlocutory applications dismissed Catchwords: DEFAMATION – pleading – application by individual defendant to have proceedings against him summarily dismissed – where source quoted in a newspaper article sued as a joint publisher of the whole article – where action based on original interview statute-barred – whether reasonably open to argue source liable as a publisher within the principles stated in Webb v Bloch – consideration of Webb v Bloch in accordance with ordinary principles of principal and agent

COSTS – exceptions to the general rule that costs follow the event – conduct of parties – where defendants ought to have brought dismissal application forward before defences were filed Legislation Cited: Civil Procedure Act 2005 (NSW) Cases Cited: Bateman v Fairfax Media Publications Pty Ltd (No 4) [2015] NSWSC 610 Bracks v Smyth-Kirk [2008] NSWSC 930 De Jong v State of Victoria [2006] VSC 274 Gross v Weston [2007] NSWCA 1 Liu v The Age Company Limited [2012] NSWSC 12 Palace Films Pty Ltd & Ors v Fairfax Media Publications Pty Ltd & Ors [2010] NSWSC 415 Palace Films Pty Ltd v Fairfax Media Publications Pty Ltd [2010] NSWSC 1486 Parkes v Prescott (1869) LR. 4 EX. 169 The Queen v Cooper (1846) 8 QB 533 Thiess v TCN Channel Nine Pty Ltd (No 5) [1994] 1 QdR 156 Webb v Bloch [1928] HCA 50; 41 CLR 331 Zeccola v Fairfax Media Publications Pty Ltd [2014] NSWSC 227 Texts Cited: Starkie on Libel (2nd ed) Category: Procedural and other rulings Parties: Antonio (Tony) Zeccola (first plaintiff) Benjamin Zeccola (second plaintiff) Fairfax Media Publications Pty Ltd (first defendant) Brian Rosen (second defendant) Michaela Boland (third defendant) Screen Hub Pty Ltd (fourth defendant) John Paxinos (fifth defendant) Alexander Prior (sixth defendant) Representation: Counsel: CA Evatt, R Rasmussen (plaintiffs) ATS Dawson (defendants)