Defences to Defamation

Many comments that are made are defamatory. However, the law allows many of these comments to be made. The real question is not whether a comment is defamatory; it is whether the law gives you the right to say it. If you do, then you have a legal defence.

There are many types of defence but the 3 main types are, generally:

• if what you said was true;
• you had a duty to provide the information; or
• if you were expressing an opinion.

Also, mere “vulgar abuse” has been held by the Courts not to be defamatory.

You might not think that you have a case for defamation. Take advantage of our “free first consultation” and speak to Bale Boshev Lawyers to see whether you have a case. Some of the matters which we have successfully run in the Courts include:

• Mr A returned some electrical goods he purchased from Woolworths. Security guards detained him and, in front of other shoppers, alleged that he had stolen the goods. They had no proper basis to do this. The words and actions of the security guards were deemed defamatory and our client was awarded in excess of $15,000.00 damages.
• Mr B separated from his partner, who went to Channel 9 and complained that he was not paying child support. On “A Current Affair” Channel 9 alleged that he was avoiding his child support obligations. They did not check the facts and didn’t seek any comment from our client. These proceedings are still currently before the Supreme Court of New South Wales.
• Miss X was identified by a talk-back caller on the “Merrick and Rosso” radio show on Nova 96.9 FM as having been involved in stealing a car many years ago when she was young. The radio station allowed the call to go to air without checking the truth of the facts. Miss X sued and recovered in excess of $40,000.00 in damages.
• Mr C used to play in a pool comp at a local licensed Club. The Club allowed an article to be published in its newsletter that alleged that Mr C had cheated during a pool comp. This newsletter was distributed to all members of the Club. Mr C is currently suing the Club and the editor of the newsletter in the District Court of New South Wales.
• Miss Y attended Westfield Shopping Centre at Hornsby to go shopping. She was wearing a short skirt, which Westfield security alleged was “inappropriate clothing”. We alleged that the manner in which the security guards bailed her up and spoke to her made it appear to other shoppers in the vicinity that she was being detained for shoplifting or other illegal activity. Along with bringing a claim for false imprisonment, Miss Y sued for defamation and settled her case with Westfield for substantial damages.
• Mr and Mrs M were sued in the District Court by a firm of solicitors on the south coast for defamation. The solicitors alleged that Mr and Mrs M (who were in a dispute with these solicitors) had home-published a book containing cartoons which alleged that the solicitors had done the wrong thing. The solicitors were not named, but were depicted as vultures in the cartoons. The clients acted for themselves and lost in the District Court, the Judge awarding a total of $500,000.00 damages against them. We acted for Mr and Mrs M after the District Court case, successfully appealed the Judge’s decision and then were able to settle the case so that Mr and Mrs M paid nothing by way of damages.

These are just some examples of the types of matters which we have acted in involving defamation suits. Some of the situations listed above you might not even think give rise to a claim for defamation. This is why it is important that if you think that your reputation has been sullied by some other person, then you need to contact us so that we can discuss with you your rights.