MORGAN TSVANGIRAI v THE SPECIAL BROADCASTING SERVICE [2002] NSWSC 532

MORGAN TSVANGIRAI v THE SPECIAL BROADCASTING SERVICE [2002] NSWSC 532

The defendant was entitled to have the proper context of the broadcast pleaded because the ordinary reasonable viewer is taken to have viewed the whole program, and the omitted parts of the Dateline report were reasonably capable of materially altering or qualifying the complexion of the pleaded imputation. The...

Source-derived case information.

Jurisdiction
Australia
Judgment Date
14 June 2002
Procedural Posture
Defamation Proceedings / Defendant's Strike in Application Concerning the Statement of Claim
Outcome
Defendant's strike-in application granted.
Legal Topics
['pleading Defamatory Matter' 'strike in Application' 'television Broadcast' 'context of Publication' 'imputations']
['defamation' 'civil Procedure'] ['pleading Defamatory Matter' 'strike in Application' 'television Broadcast' 'context of Publication' 'imputations']

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Procedural Posture

Defamation Proceedings / Defendant's Strike in Application Concerning the Statement of Claim

Legal Issues

  1. 1 ['Whether the plaintiff should be required to plead the entirety of the Dateline program rather than only two introductory sentences.' 'Whether omitted parts of a television program are reasonably capable of materially altering or qualifying the complexion of the pleaded defamatory imputation.' 'Whether the concept of perversity could be applied to avoid pleading the balance of the program.']

Ratio Decidendi

The defendant was entitled to have the proper context of the broadcast pleaded because the ordinary reasonable viewer is taken to have viewed the whole program, and the omitted parts of the Dateline report were reasonably capable of materially altering or qualifying the complexion of the pleaded imputation. The plaintiff's reliance on only two introductory sentences was akin to pleading only a headline, and the suggested application of perversity to this preliminary pleading question was rejected.

Court Disposition

Defendant's strike-in application granted.

Orders

  • ['Within 14 days the plaintiff is to file an Amended Statement of Claim pleading the whole of the program and appending to the Statement of Claim a transcript in the form of exhibit A on this application.' 'The plaintiff is to append to such Statement of Claim the particulars required by SCR Pt 67 r12 (e).' "The...