DHR International, Inc a company incorporated in Delaware in the United States of America v Challis [2015] NSWSC 1567

Supreme Court New South Wales

Medium Neutral Citation: DHR International, Inc a company incorporated in Delaware in the United States of America v Challis [2015] NSWSC 1567 Hearing dates: 16 October 2015 Decision date: 23 October 2015 Jurisdiction: Equity - Duty List Before: White J Decision: Plaintiff's application for interlocutory injunctive relief refused Catchwords: PRACTICE AND PROCEDURE – interlocutory injunctions – application to compel defendant to prevent access to internet blog posts, and to restrain defendant from publishing injurious falsehoods – consideration of undesirability of framing injunctions in terms of the elements of the tort

TORTS – injurious falsehood – elements of the tort – relevance of the principle of free speech to interlocutory injunction to restrain injurious falsehoods – held, refusing the application, that insufficient evidence was adduced to establish a serious question to be tried as to the falsity of the statements

TRADE PRACTICES – misleading or deceptive conduct – application for interlocutory injunction – held, refusing the application, that insufficient evidence was adduced to establish a serious question to be tried as to the representations being misleading or deceptive, or as to their being made in trade or commerce Legislation Cited: Defamation Act 2005 (NSW) Cases Cited: Godfrey v Demon Internet Limited [2001] QB 201 Byrne v Deane [1937] 1 KB 818 Kaplan v Go Daddy Group [2005] NSWSC 636 Palmer Bruyn & Parker Pty Ltd v Parsons [2001] HCA 69; (2001) 208 CLR 388 AMI Australia Holdings Pty Ltd & Anor v Fairfax Media Publications Pty Ltd [2010] NSWSC 1395; [2011] Aust Torts Rep 82-077 Ratcliffe v Evans [1892] 2 QB 524 at 527 to 528; Ballina Shire Council v Ringland (1994) 33 NSWLR 680 Swimsure (Laboratories) Pty Ltd v McDonald [1979] 2 NSWLR 796 Chappell v TCN Channel Nine Pty Ltd (1988) 14 NSWLR 153 Australian Broadcasting Corporation v O'Neill [2006] HCA 46; (2006) 227 CLR 57 Fleming v Newton (1848) 1 HL Cas 363 Commodore Business Machines Pty Ltd v Trade Practices Commission (1990) 92 ALR 563 Curro v Beyond Productions Pty Ltd (1993) 30 NSWLR 337 Category: Procedural and other rulings Parties: DHR International, Inc. (Plaintiff) Darren Challis (Defendant) Representation: Counsel: R Gration (Plaintiff) D Sibtain with P Horobin (Defendant)