Bolton v Stoltenberg [2018] NSWSC 1518

Supreme Court New South Wales

Medium Neutral Citation: Bolton v Stoltenberg [2018] NSWSC 1518 Hearing dates: 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 16 April 2018 Date of orders: 15 October 2018 Decision date: 15 October 2018 Jurisdiction: Common Law Before: Payne J Decision: See paragraph [273] Catchwords: DEFAMATION – imputations – whether imputations made out from matters complained of

DEFAMATION – publication – Facebook – where defamatory posts made on public Facebook page "Narri Leaks" – relevance of Facebook "views", "hits" and "likes" to publication – whether Facebook posts had been read and downloaded – whether plaintiff could be identified in each defamatory Facebook post

DEFAMATION – defences – common law qualified privilege – whether the "Narri Leaks" Facebook page had a limited audience with a special interest –whether malice proved

DEFAMATION – defences – statutory qualified privilege – Defamation Act 2005 (NSW), s 30 –whether conduct of the defendants in publishing the matter was reasonable in the circumstances – whether failure to contact plaintiff fatal to defence – whether language used was excessive and the publication itself lacked reasonableness

DEFAMATION - damages – whether plaintiff entitled to aggravated damages

DEFAMATION – remedies – permanent injunction Legislation Cited: Civil Procedure Act 2005 (NSW), ss 56, 100 Defamation Act 1974 (NSW), s 22 Defamation Act 2005 (NSW), ss 8, 22, 30, 34, 35, 39 Evidence Act 1995 (NSW), ss 81, 183 Independent Commission Against Corruption Act 1988 (NSW) Local Government Act 1993 (NSW), s 349