Zaia v Eshow [2017] NSWSC 1540

Supreme Court New South Wales

Medium Neutral Citation: Zaia v Eshow [2017] NSWSC 1540 Hearing dates: 27 March 2017 Decision date: 15 November 2017 Jurisdiction: Common Law Before: McCallum J Decision: Verdict for the plaintiff in the sum of $150,000; defendant permanently restrained by himself, his servants or agents from further publishing the third and fifth to ninth matters complained of in these proceedings or any other matter giving rise to the imputations found in this judgment to have been conveyed by those matters (or similar imputations not differing in substance from them) Catchwords: DEFAMATION – defamatory meaning – Facebook posts – whether imputations conveyed

DEFAMATION – defences – statutory defence of honest opinion – whether defamatory sense of matters complained of would be understood as opinion or fact

DEFAMATION – damages – where plaintiff did not give evidence – no entitlement to damages for hurt feelings or aggravated damages – vindication – where plaintiff a highly esteemed religious leader – likelihood that defamatory statements would be dismissed as having no foundation Legislation Cited: Defamation Act 2005 (NSW), ss 25, 31, 34, 35, 39 Cases Cited: Ainsworth v Burden [2000] NSWSC 105 Carolan v Fairfax Media Publications Pty Ltd (No 6) [2016] NSWSC 1091 Carolan v Fairfax Media Publications Pty Ltd (No 7) [2017] NSWSC 351 Carson v John Fairfax & Sons Ltd (1993) 178 CLR 44; [1993] HCA 31 Channel Seven Adelaide Pty Ltd v Manock (2007) 232 CLR 245; [2007] HCA 60 Cripps v Vakros [2014] VSC 279 Harbour Radio Pty Ltd v Ahmed [2011] NSWCA 290 John Fairfax & Sons Ltd v Carson (1991) 24 NSWLR 259 Singleton v Ffrench (1986) 5 NSWLR 425 Category: Principal judgment Parties: Mar Meelis Zaia (plaintiff) Sargon Eshow (defendant) Representation: Counsel: ATS Dawson SC, C Amato (plaintiff) Defendant self-represented