Feldman v Nationwide News Pty Ltd & Ors; Feldman v Nationwide News Pty Ltd & Ors; Feldman v Nationwide News Pty Ltd & Ors; Feldman v Special Broadcasting Corporation [2020] NSWSC 26

Supreme Court New South Wales

Medium Neutral Citation: Feldman v Nationwide News Pty Ltd & Ors; Feldman v Nationwide News Pty Ltd & Ors; Feldman v Nationwide News Pty Ltd & Ors; Feldman v Special Broadcasting Corporation [2020] NSWSC 26 Hearing dates: 8, 9, 10, 11, 16, 17 May; 5 July; 17 August 2018 Date of orders: 31 January 2020 Decision date: 31 January 2020 Jurisdiction: Common Law Before: Campbell J Decision: See paragraph [326] Catchwords: DEFAMATION — capacity to convey pleaded imputations — where defendants published articles concerning evidence given by a Rabbi during the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse — where articles allege reprehensible ignorance of the criminality of touching a child for sexual gratification — where majority of imputations conceded — whether articles conveyed additional imputations including to the effect that the plaintiff was ignorant of the moral wrongfulness of touching a child for sexual gratification

DEFAMATION — defences — justification — consideration of plaintiff's evidence given to Royal Commission and a 2011 email exchange where plaintiff expressed views that instances of child sexual abuse ought not be reported to secular authorities in the first instance

DEFAMATION — defences — protected report under statute — whether articles report the substance of proceedings Legislation Cited: Children and Young Persons (Care and Protection) Act 1998 (NSW), s 27(b) Defamation Act 2005 (NSW), ss 25, 28, 29, 34, 35, 38, 39 Cases Cited: Amalgamated Television Services Pty Ltd v Marsden (1998) 43 NSWLR 158; [1998] NSWSC 4 Associated Newspapers Ltd v Dingle [1964] AC 371 Charleston v News Group Newspapers Ltd [1995] 2 AC 65 Clark v Ainsworth (1996) 40 NSWLR 463 Cook v Alexander [1974] 1 QB 279 Curistan v Times Newspapers Limited [2008] EWCA Civ 432; [2008] 3 All ER 923 DC v New South Wales [2016] NSWCA 198; [2016] Aust. Torts Reports 82 – 295 Fairfax Digital Australia & New Zealand Pty Ltd v Kazal (2018) 97 NSWLR 547; [2018] NSWCA 77 Farquar v Bottom [1980] 2 NSWLR 380 Feldman v Polaris Media Pty Ltd as Trustee of the Polaris Media Trading t/as The Australian Jewish News (No 2) [2018] NSWSC 1035 Greek Herald Pty Ltd v Nikolopoulous (2002) 54 NSWLR 165; [2002] NSWCA 41 John Fairfax Publications Pty Ltd v Rivkin [2003] HCA 50; (2003) 201 ALR 77 Lewis v Daily Telegraph Ltd [1964] AC 234 Manobendro Chakravarti v Advertiser Newspapers Ltd (1998) 193 CLR 519; [1998] HCA 37 Rogers v Nationwide News Pty Ltd (2003) 216 CLR 327; [2003] HCA 52 Skuse v Granada Television ltd [1986] EMLR 278 (CA) Category: Principal judgment Parties: Proceedings No. 2016/38344 Yosef Yitzhak Feldman (Plaintiff) Nationwide News Pty Ltd (First Defendant) Herald & Weekly Times Pty Ltd (Second Defendant)