Voller v Fairfax Media Publications Pty Ltd; Voller v Nationwide News Pty Ltd; Voller v Australian News Channel Pty Ltd [2018] NSWSC 608

Voller v Fairfax Media Publications Pty Ltd; Voller v Nationwide News Pty Ltd; Voller v Australian News Channel Pty Ltd [2018] NSWSC 608

The plaintiff had a respectable argument that the defendants' liability for publication could depend on their knowledge of a significant risk of defamatory third-party comments, and the requested documents were potentially relevant to that issue; the application was not merely speculative and an entitlement to discovery was established.

Jurisdiction
Australia
Judgment Date
20 April 2018
Procedural Posture
Defamation Proceedings / Interlocutory Application for Discovery Before Determination of a Separate Question of Publication
Outcome
Discovery ordered and costs awarded to the plaintiff for the argument.
Legal Topics
['publication' 'reader Comments on Facebook Pages' 'discovery' 'separate Question' 'relevance to Facts in Issue']
['defamation' 'civil Procedure'] ['publication' 'reader Comments on Facebook Pages' 'discovery' 'separate Question' 'relevance to Facts in Issue']

Case Brief

Summary, issues, holding and outcome

More case intelligence is available

Unlock the full research layer for this judgment.

Full judgment text Downloadable case file Legal principles 1 Authorities cited 2 Party arguments 2 Amounts and remedies 1
Sign in to unlock

Procedural Posture

Defamation Proceedings / Interlocutory Application for Discovery Before Determination of a Separate Question of Publication

Legal Issues

  1. 1 ['Whether the plaintiff was entitled to discovery of documents relevant to whether the defendants were liable for publication of allegedly defamatory Facebook comments posted by third parties.' 'Whether the requested categories of documents were relevant to a fact in issue for the purposes of r 21.2 of the Uniform Civil Procedure Rules 2005 (NSW).']

Ratio Decidendi

The plaintiff had a respectable argument that the defendants' liability for publication could depend on their knowledge of a significant risk of defamatory third-party comments, and the requested documents were potentially relevant to that issue; the application was not merely speculative and an entitlement to discovery was established.

Court Disposition

Discovery ordered and costs awarded to the plaintiff for the argument.

Orders

  • ["Defendants to give discovery of the categories identified in the plaintiff's letter dated 23 March 2018 within four weeks." 'Matter stood over to 9 June 2018 with liberty to apply.' "Defendants to pay the plaintiff's costs of today's argument."]