Cotter v John Fairfax Publications Pty Ltd [2001] NSWSC 587

Cotter v John Fairfax Publications Pty Ltd [2001] NSWSC 587

The interrogatories administered are relevant to the issue of reasonableness in the defendant's statutory qualified privilege defence and are not shown to be oppressive or vexatious. The defendant is ordered to answer all interrogatories, with exceptions only to the extent that answers would identify confidential sources in accordance with the 'newspaper rule'.

Jurisdiction
Australia
Judgment Date
13 July 2001
Procedural Posture
Defamation / Interlocutory Application Regarding Interrogatories
Outcome
Application granted with qualification regarding source-identifying answers
Legal Topics
['interrogatories' 'qualified Privilege' 'statutory Defences' 'reasonableness of Publication' 'newspaper Rule']
['defamation'] ['interrogatories' 'qualified Privilege' 'statutory Defences' 'reasonableness of Publication' 'newspaper Rule']

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Procedural Posture

Defamation / Interlocutory Application Regarding Interrogatories

Legal Issues

  1. 1 ['Whether the defendant should be required to answer all or any of the interrogatories administered by the plaintiff' 'Whether objections to the interrogatories on grounds of being vexatious, oppressive, or irrelevant are valid in the context of a qualified privilege defence under s 22 of the Defamation Act 1974' "Application of the 'newspaper rule' to refusal to answer interrogatories that would reveal sources"]

Ratio Decidendi

The interrogatories administered are relevant to the issue of reasonableness in the defendant's statutory qualified privilege defence and are not shown to be oppressive or vexatious. The defendant is ordered to answer all interrogatories, with exceptions only to the extent that answers would identify confidential sources in accordance with the 'newspaper rule'.

Court Disposition

Application granted with qualification regarding source-identifying answers

Orders

  • ['Defendant ordered to answer all interrogatories except to the extent that an answer would identify the source of its information' "Defendant to pay the whole of the plaintiff's costs of the application"]