| Source: | All England Reporter |
| Publisher Citation: | [2001] All ER (D) 106 (Jul) |
| Court: | Queen's Bench Division |
| Judge: | Eady J |
| Representation | David Price of David Price & Co for the claimant. |
| Nicholas Stadlen QC and Mark Warby (instructed by Olswang) for the defendant. | |
| Judgment Dates: | 9 July 2001 |
Catchwords
Libel and slander - Qualified privilege - Public interest - Claimant succeeding in libel action against defendants - Defendants publishing article reporting outcome of case - Claimant bringing second claim alleging that article repeating same allegations as before - Whether publication covered by qualified privilege - Whether publication fair comment.
The Case
A defendant to a libel action should not be allowed to mount a defence of qualified privilege where the defamatory publication complained of consisted of a repetition of allegations found to be untrue in previous libel litigation. There was neither a duty to report such matters nor a right to reply in respect of any attacks on the defendant made by counsel in the exercise of his professional duty in the course of the previous litigation. Further, the defence of fair comment could not be extended to cover inferential allegations of fact that were incidental to the expression of an opinion.
Practice Areas
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