Fisher v Channel Seven Sydney Pty Ltd (No 5) [2014] NSWSC 1873

Fisher v Channel Seven Sydney Pty Ltd (No 5) [2014] NSWSC 1873

The defendants' refusal to accept the plaintiff's offer was not unreasonable for the purposes of s 40 of the Defamation Act 2005, but the plaintiff obtained a more favourable judgment than the $40,000 offer of compromise, so r 42.14 of the Uniform Civil Procedure Rules 2005 applied. Because the plaintiff's false evidence added somewhat to the duration of the proceedings, costs after 7 February 2014 were reduced to 85% on an indemnity basis. Most of the compensable defamation damage occurred on or about publication, but some continued until judgment, making 3% an appropriate pre-judgment interest rate.

Jurisdiction
Australia
Judgment Date
31 December 2014
Procedural Posture
Defamation Proceedings / Determination of Costs and Interest Following Judgment
Outcome
Orders for costs and interest made; proceedings otherwise dismissed.
Legal Topics
['indemnity Costs' 'offer of Compromise' 'pre Judgment Interest' 'defamation Damages']
['defamation' 'civil Procedure' 'costs'] ['indemnity Costs' 'offer of Compromise' 'pre Judgment Interest' 'defamation Damages']

Case Brief

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Procedural Posture

Defamation Proceedings / Determination of Costs and Interest Following Judgment

Legal Issues

  1. 1 ["Whether the plaintiff should receive indemnity costs because the defendants did not accept the plaintiff's offer of compromise." 'Whether indemnity costs should be awarded for the entirety of the proceedings under s 40 of the Defamation Act 2005.' 'What rate of pre-judgment interest should be awarded on the defamation damages.']

Ratio Decidendi

The defendants' refusal to accept the plaintiff's offer was not unreasonable for the purposes of s 40 of the Defamation Act 2005, but the plaintiff obtained a more favourable judgment than the $40,000 offer of compromise, so r 42.14 of the Uniform Civil Procedure Rules 2005 applied. Because the plaintiff's false evidence added somewhat to the duration of the proceedings, costs after 7 February 2014 were reduced to 85% on an indemnity basis. Most of the compensable defamation damage occurred on or about publication, but some continued until judgment, making 3% an appropriate pre-judgment interest rate.

Court Disposition

Orders for costs and interest made; proceedings otherwise dismissed.

Orders

  • ['Orders (3), (4), (5) and (6) issued by the Court in these proceedings on 17 November 2014 are hereby vacated.' 'The defendants shall pay, in addition to the award of damages, interest on the amount of said damages, pursuant to s 100 of the Civil Procedure Act 2005, at the rate of 3% from 6 June 2011 until 17...