Ell v Milne (No 5) [2013] NSWSC 246

Ell v Milne (No 5) [2013] NSWSC 246

The letter's ordinary and natural meaning conveyed that Mr Ell had a scandalous association with Mr McGurk and that he provided $100,000 bail to advance his business interests, but did not convey that Mr Ell was implicated by wrongful conduct in the murder, approved violence in his business ventures, or paid bail for services rendered as a standover man. Given the admitted extrinsic fact known to recipients that Mr McGurk had a reputation as a standover man, the letter conveyed as a true innuendo that Mr Ell conducted his property development business by employing a person with a reputation for violence. The letter also conveyed the defendant's contextual imputation that, as a developer,...

Jurisdiction
Australia
Judgment Date
27 March 2013
Procedural Posture
Defamation Action / Trial Before Judge Alone; Preliminary Rulings on Whether Plaintiff's Imputations and Defendant's Contextual Imputation Were Conveyed Before Defences and Damages
Outcome
Plaintiff's imputations (b), (c) and (f) and the defendant's contextual imputation were found to be conveyed; plaintiff's imputations (a), (d) and (e) were found not to be conveyed.
Legal Topics
['imputations' 'natural and Ordinary Meaning' 'true Innuendo' 'contextual Truth' 'contextual Imputation']
['defamation Law'] ['imputations' 'natural and Ordinary Meaning' 'true Innuendo' 'contextual Truth' 'contextual Imputation']

Case Brief

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Procedural Posture

Defamation Action / Trial Before Judge Alone; Preliminary Rulings on Whether Plaintiff's Imputations and Defendant's Contextual Imputation Were Conveyed Before Defences and Damages

Legal Issues

  1. 1 ["Whether plaintiff's imputations (a) to (f) were conveyed by the matter complained of" "Whether the defendant's contextual imputation was conveyed by the matter complained of" "Whether imputations (e) and (f) were conveyed as true innuendoes by reason of recipients' knowledge that Mr McGurk had a reputation in the community as a standover man"]

Ratio Decidendi

The letter's ordinary and natural meaning conveyed that Mr Ell had a scandalous association with Mr McGurk and that he provided $100,000 bail to advance his business interests, but did not convey that Mr Ell was implicated by wrongful conduct in the murder, approved violence in his business ventures, or paid bail for services rendered as a standover man. Given the admitted extrinsic fact known to recipients that Mr McGurk had a reputation as a standover man, the letter conveyed as a true innuendo that Mr Ell conducted his property development business by employing a person with a reputation for violence. The letter also conveyed the defendant's contextual imputation that, as a developer,...

Court Disposition

Plaintiff's imputations (b), (c) and (f) and the defendant's contextual imputation were found to be conveyed; plaintiff's imputations (a), (d) and (e) were found not to be conveyed.

Orders

  • ["Plaintiff's imputations (b), (c) and (f) found to be conveyed by the matter complained of" "Plaintiff's imputations (a), (d) and (e) found not to be conveyed by the matter complained of" "Defendant's contextual imputation found to be conveyed by the matter complained of"]