Gubarev & Anor v Orbis Business Intelligence Ltd & Anor [2020] EWHC 2912 (QB) (30 October 2020)

Gubarev & Anor v Orbis Business Intelligence Ltd & Anor [2020] EWHC 2912 (QB) (30 October 2020)

The defendants were not legally responsible for the publication of the December Memorandum on the BuzzFeed website; the natural and ordinary meaning of the words was that there were good reasons to suspect the claimants, under duress from the Russian Secret Service, of participating in hacking and related activities against the Democratic Party leadership; Webzilla Ltd failed to prove that the publication caused or was likely to cause it serious financial loss within the EU as required by s 1(2) of the Defamation Act 2013; accordingly, the claims were dismissed.

Citation
[2020] EWHC 2912
Parties
Claimant: Aleksej Gubarev; Claimant: Webzilla Limited; Defendant: Orbis Business Intelligence Limited; Defendant: Christopher Steele
Jurisdiction
England and Wales
Judgment Date
30 October 2020
Procedural Posture
Libel / Judgment After Trial
Outcome
Claims dismissed
Legal Topics
Libel, Serious Harm, Defamation Act 2013, Publication Responsibility, Damages
Defamation Media Law Libel Serious Harm Defamation Act 2013 Publication Responsibility Damages

Case Brief

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Parties

Aleksej Gubarev

Claimant

Webzilla Limited

Claimant

Orbis Business Intelligence Limited

Defendant

Christopher Steele

Defendant

Procedural Posture

Libel / Judgment After Trial

Legal Issues

  1. 1 Whether the defendants are legally responsible for the publication of the December Memorandum on the BuzzFeed website
  2. 2 What is the natural and ordinary meaning of the words complained of
  3. 3 Whether Webzilla Ltd has shown that the publication caused or was likely to cause it serious financial loss under s 1(2) Defamation Act 2013

Ratio Decidendi

The defendants were not legally responsible for the publication of the December Memorandum on the BuzzFeed website; the natural and ordinary meaning of the words was that there were good reasons to suspect the claimants, under duress from the Russian Secret Service, of participating in hacking and related activities against the Democratic Party leadership; Webzilla Ltd failed to prove that the publication caused or was likely to cause it serious financial loss within the EU as required by s 1(2) of the Defamation Act 2013; accordingly, the claims were dismissed.

Court Disposition

Claims dismissed