Curistan v Times Newspapers Ltd [2007] EWHC 926 (QB) (25 April 2007)

Curistan v Times Newspapers Ltd [2007] EWHC 926 (QB) (25 April 2007)

The natural and ordinary meaning of the article is that the claimant, through his companies, was associated with IRA 'dirty money' and was thereby guilty of IRA money-laundering and financial malpractice. The privileged passages in the article are protected as a fair and accurate report of parliamentary proceedings,...

Source-derived case information.

Citation
[2007] EWHC 926 (QB)
Parties
Claimant: Peter Curistan; Defendant: Times Newspapers Limited
Jurisdiction
England and Wales
Judgment Date
25 April 2007
Procedural Posture
Libel Action / Preliminary Issues Judgment
Outcome
Preliminary issues determined: (1) Article conveys meaning of actual guilt; (2) Specified passages protected by qualified privilege.
Legal Topics
Libel, Qualified Privilege, Parliamentary Proceedings, Meaning of Defamatory Words
Defamation Media Law Libel Qualified Privilege Parliamentary Proceedings Meaning of Defamatory Words

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Parties

Peter Curistan

Claimant

Times Newspapers Limited

Defendant

Procedural Posture

Libel Action / Preliminary Issues Judgment

Legal Issues

  1. 1 What is the natural and ordinary meaning of the words complained of in the article?
  2. 2 Are certain passages in the article protected by statutory qualified privilege as a fair and accurate report of proceedings in Parliament?

Ratio Decidendi

The natural and ordinary meaning of the article is that the claimant, through his companies, was associated with IRA 'dirty money' and was thereby guilty of IRA money-laundering and financial malpractice. The privileged passages in the article are protected as a fair and accurate report of parliamentary proceedings, as they are severable, connected, and not rendered unfair or inaccurate by the additional material.

Court Disposition

Preliminary issues determined: (1) Article conveys meaning of actual guilt; (2) Specified passages protected by qualified privilege.

Orders

  • First preliminary issue answered: article conveys meaning of actual guilt of money laundering and financial malpractice.
  • Second preliminary issue answered: specified passages are protected by qualified privilege as fair and accurate report of parliamentary proceedings.