Bechara v Bonacorso (No. 2) [2010] NSWDC 42

Bechara v Bonacorso (No. 2) [2010] NSWDC 42

A defendant is not entitled to refuse to answer interrogatories relating to what was said to police merely because publication is denied in the pleadings while simultaneously asserting a defence of qualified privilege; the plaintiff is entitled to seek answers to establish or destroy the opposing case under the relevant rules and established principles.

Jurisdiction
Australia
Judgment Date
19 March 2010
Procedural Posture
Defamation Proceedings / Interlocutory Application for Further and Better Answers to Interrogatories
Outcome
Application granted
Legal Topics
['defamation' 'interrogatories']
['tort' 'civil Procedure'] ['defamation' 'interrogatories']

Case Brief

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Procedural Posture

Defamation Proceedings / Interlocutory Application for Further and Better Answers to Interrogatories

Legal Issues

  1. 1 ['Whether the defendant must answer interrogatories 2(c) and 14(c)' 'Whether objections that interrogatories are vexatious, oppressive, or irrelevant are valid given the pleadings']

Ratio Decidendi

A defendant is not entitled to refuse to answer interrogatories relating to what was said to police merely because publication is denied in the pleadings while simultaneously asserting a defence of qualified privilege; the plaintiff is entitled to seek answers to establish or destroy the opposing case under the relevant rules and established principles.

Court Disposition

Application granted

Orders

  • ["The defendant is to answer the plaintiff's interrogatories 2(c) and 14(c) in seven days, with verification, by 26 March 2010." 'Order 1 is self-executing in nature.' "Defendant pay plaintiff's costs of this application."]