Doe v Dowling [2019] NSWSC 1222

Supreme Court New South Wales

Medium Neutral Citation: Doe v Dowling [2019] NSWSC 1222 Hearing dates: 26-27 August 2019 Date of orders: 20 September 2019 Decision date: 20 September 2019 Jurisdiction: Common Law Before: Fagan J Decision: 1. Judgment for the plaintiffs for damages in the sum of $150,000 for each plaintiff. 2. Until further order the names of the plaintiffs are not to be published in connection with these proceedings. 3. The defendant is restrained from publishing any of the three articles that are the subject of the proceedings in any form which includes the name of any of the plaintiffs. 4. The defendant is restrained from publishing any matter of and concerning the plaintiffs to the same effect as the articles that are the subject of the proceedings or to the same effect as the imputations pleaded in the amended statement of claim or any imputations that do not differ in substance. 5. The defendant is to remove from the kangaroocourtofaustralia.com website the publications identified in the orders of the court as entered, including any republication by hyperlink to those publications from other electronic platforms controlled by the defendant. 6. The defendant is to pay the plaintiffs' costs of the proceedings on the indemnity basis. Catchwords: DEFAMATION – defamatory matter – where defendant admitted publication of defamatory material – where all imputations alleged were found to have been conveyed –justification not pleaded – no defence of absolute privilege – where defence of qualified privilege pleaded – whether conduct of defendant in publishing material was reasonable in circumstances – Defamation Act s 30 subs (1)(c) – where no attempt to verify information before publication – behaviour unreasonable in circumstances – defence of qualified privilege fails – where defendant likely to repost defamatory material – non-publication order made – permanent injunction granted – defendant to pay costs on indemnity basis Legislation Cited: Australian Human Rights Commission Act 1986 (Cth) Court Suppression and Non-publication Orders Act 2010 (NSW) Defamation Act 2005 (NSW) Disability Discrimination Act 1992 (Cth) Evidence Act 1995 (NSW) Uniform Civil Procedure Rules 2005 Sex Discrimination Act 1984 (Cth) Cases Cited: Amalgamated Television Services Pty Ltd v Marsden (1998) 43 NSWLR 158; [1998] NSWSC 4 Attorney General v Leveller Magazine [1979] AC 440 Attorney-General v Times Newspapers [1992] 1 AC 191 Austin v Mirror Newspapers Ltd (1985) 3 NSWLR 354 Bristow v Adams [2012] NSWCA 166 Cairns and Morosi v John Fairfax & Sons Ltd (1983) 2 NSWLR 708 Carolan v Fairfax Media Publications Pty Ltd (No 7) [2017] NSWSC 351 Doe v Dowling [2017] NSWSC 202 Doe v Dowling [2017] NSWSC 1793 Doe 1 v Dowling [2018] NSWSC 1278 Dowling v Prothonotary of the Supreme Court of New South Wales [2018] NSWCA 340 Greek Herald Pty Ltd v Nikolopoulos & Others (2002) 54 NSWLR 165; [2002] NSWCA 41 Hockey v Fairfax Media Publications Pty Limited (No 2) [2015] FCA 750 Jane Doe 1 & Jane Doe 2 v Dowling (No 2) [2016] NSWSC 1910 Kirkpatrick v Kotis [2004] NSWSC 1265; (2004) 62 NSWLR 567 Mirror Newspapers Ltd v Fitzpatrick [1984] 1 NSWLR 643 Prothonotary of the Supreme Court of New South Wales v Shane Dowling [2017] NSWSC 664 Random House Australia Pty Ltd v Abbott [1999] FCA 1538 Urbanchich v Drummoyne Municipal Council [1991] Aust Torts Reports 81-127 Visscher v Maritime Union of Australia (No 6) [2014] NSWSC 350 Category: Principal judgment Parties: Jane Doe 1 - first plaintiff Jane Doe 2 - second plaintiff Jane Doe 3 - third plaintiff Jane Doe 4 - fourth plaintiff Shane Dowling - self-represented defendant Representation: Counsel: S Dawson with M Cowden - plaintiffs N/A