Hayden v Associated Newspapers Ltd

Hayden v Associated Newspapers Ltd

The Article, read as a whole, would be understood by the reasonable reader to mean that the Claimant reported Mrs Scottow to the police for a range of serious allegations, not merely for being called a man, and that such a complaint was not trivial or vexatious. Therefore, the words complained of are not defamatory of the Claimant at common law.

Parties
Claimant: Stephanie Rebecca Hayden; Defendant: Associated Newspapers Limited
Jurisdiction
England and Wales
Judgment Date
11 March 2020
Procedural Posture
Civil Defamation (libel) / Trial of Meaning (preliminary Issue)
Outcome
Claim dismissed; judgment for the Defendant.
Legal Topics
Libel, Meaning of Words, Defamatory Meaning, Trial of Meaning, Recusal of Judge, Bane and Antidote, Reasonable Reader Test
Defamation Media Law Libel Meaning of Words Defamatory Meaning Trial of Meaning Recusal of Judge Bane and Antidote +1 more

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Parties

Stephanie Rebecca Hayden

Claimant

Associated Newspapers Limited

Defendant

Procedural Posture

Civil Defamation (libel) / Trial of Meaning (preliminary Issue)

Legal Issues

  1. 1 What is the natural and ordinary meaning of the words complained of in the Article?
  2. 2 Are those meanings defamatory at common law?

Ratio Decidendi

The Article, read as a whole, would be understood by the reasonable reader to mean that the Claimant reported Mrs Scottow to the police for a range of serious allegations, not merely for being called a man, and that such a complaint was not trivial or vexatious. Therefore, the words complained of are not defamatory of the Claimant at common law.

Court Disposition

Claim dismissed; judgment for the Defendant.

Orders

  • Claimant's application for recusal refused.
  • Claim in libel dismissed; judgment for the Defendant.