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 cyber activities against the Democratic Party leadership; Webzilla Ltd failed to prove that publication within the EU caused or was likely to cause it serious financial loss as required by s 1(2) Defamation Act 2013; no compensatory damages or injunction were awarded.

Citation
[2020] EWHC 2912 (QB)
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/defamation / High Court Trial Judgment
Outcome
Claim dismissed
Legal Topics
Libel, Serious Harm, Publication Responsibility, Damages, Defamation Act 2013
Defamation Media Law Libel Serious Harm Publication Responsibility Damages Defamation Act 2013

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 3 Authorities cited 15 Party arguments 2
Sign in to unlock

Parties

Aleksej Gubarev

Claimant

Webzilla Limited

Claimant

Orbis Business Intelligence Limited

Defendant

Christopher Steele

Defendant

Procedural Posture

Libel/defamation / High Court Trial Judgment

Legal Issues

  1. 1 Whether the defendants are legally responsible for 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 serious harm/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 cyber activities against the Democratic Party leadership; Webzilla Ltd failed to prove that publication within the EU caused or was likely to cause it serious financial loss as required by s 1(2) Defamation Act 2013; no compensatory damages or injunction were awarded.

Court Disposition

Claim dismissed

Orders

  • No damages awarded
  • No injunction granted