Wilson v Basson [2019] NSWSC 1449

Supreme Court New South Wales

Medium Neutral Citation: Wilson v Basson [2019] NSWSC 1449 Hearing dates: 18 October 2019 Date of orders: 21 October 2019 Decision date: 23 October 2019 Jurisdiction: Equity Before: Slattery J Decision: Plaintiff/cross-defendant's strike out motion is dismissed. Order that the plaintiff/cross-defendant pay the defendant/cross-claimant's costs of the strike out motion. The plaintiff/cross-defendant's motion to amend is declined but the plaintiff/cross-defendant is granted leave to circulate a further proposed amended statement of claim. The plaintiff/cross-defendant is ordered to pay the defendant/cross-claimant's costs of the motion for leave to amend. Catchwords: PRACTICE AND PROCEDURE – motions – costs – plaintiff/cross-defendant seeks to strike out part of a cross claim – plaintiff/cross-defendant does not wish to proceed with her strike out motion – consensus as to outcome – argument as to costs – whether costs should lie where they fall – whether either party has conducted herself unreasonably, or whether one or other party was certain to succeed.

PRACTICE AND PROCEDURE – amendment of pleadings – plaintiff brings motion for amendment to statement of claim – new allegations of oral defamation to be introduced by the proposed amendment – whether the proposed amendments sufficiently identify the defamatory words alleged to have been spoken and the occasions upon which the defamatory words were said and the persons responsible for them – whether the amendments should be allowed. Legislation Cited: Limitation Act 1969, s 14B Uniform Civil Procedure Rules 2005, r 15.19 Civil Procedure Act 2005, ss 22, 56 Cases Cited: Australian Securities Commission v Aust-Home Investments Limited (1993) 44 FCR 194 Baker v Martin [2014] VSCA 302 Collins v Jones [1955] 1 QB 564 Gumina v Williams (No. 1) (1990) 3 WAR 342 Martech International Pty Ltd v Energy World Corp Ltd [2004] FCA 1470 Oxford Funding Pty Ltd v Oxford Asia Pacific Investments Pty Ltd (No. 2) [2006] FCA 1542 Pollack v Harris [2001] NSWSC 852 Re Minister for Immigration and Ethnic Affairs; Ex parte Lai Qin (1997) 186 CLR 622 Tournier v National Provincial and Union Bank of England [1923] All ER Rep 550 Texts Cited: TK Tobin and NG Sexton, Australian Defamation Law in Practice (1991, Butterworths), at [25,075]. Category: Procedural and other rulings Parties: Applicant: Jessica May Wilson Respondent: Mary Jane Basson Representation: Counsel: Applicant: E. Young Respondent: D. Pritchard SC; T. Senior