Club La Costa (UK) Plc v Gebhard & Anor [2008] EWHC 2552 (QB) (24 October 2008)

Club La Costa (UK) Plc v Gebhard & Anor [2008] EWHC 2552 (QB) (24 October 2008)

A valid offer of amends under section 2 of the Defamation Act 1996 requires the defendant to accept that the words complained of refer to the claimant and convey a specific defamatory meaning of the claimant. An equivocal offer that does not admit reference to the claimant is not a valid offer under the Act....

Source-derived case information.

Citation
[2008] EWHC 2552 (QB)
Parties
Claimant: Club La Costa (UK) PLC; Defendant: Toby Gebhard; Defendant: Inventory Solutions (UK) Limited
Jurisdiction
England and Wales
Judgment Date
24 October 2008
Procedural Posture
Libel Action (defamation) / Interlocutory Application—application to Strike Out Part of Defence and for Summary Judgment on Reference
Outcome
Claimant's application to strike out paragraph 6 of the Defence is granted; application for summary judgment on reference is refused.
Legal Topics
Offer of Amends, Qualified Privilege, Reference in Defamation, Summary Judgment, Striking Out Pleadings
Defamation Civil Procedure Offer of Amends Qualified Privilege Reference in Defamation Summary Judgment Striking Out Pleadings

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Summary, issues, holding and outcome

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Parties

Club La Costa (UK) PLC

Claimant

Toby Gebhard

Defendant

Inventory Solutions (UK) Limited

Defendant

Procedural Posture

Libel Action (defamation) / Interlocutory Application—application to Strike Out Part of Defence and for Summary Judgment on Reference

Legal Issues

  1. 1 Whether the defendants' correspondence constituted a valid qualified offer of amends under section 2 of the Defamation Act 1996
  2. 2 Whether a defendant can make an offer of amends without admitting reference to the claimant
  3. 3 Whether the defence that the words complained of do not refer to the claimant has a real prospect of success

Ratio Decidendi

A valid offer of amends under section 2 of the Defamation Act 1996 requires the defendant to accept that the words complained of refer to the claimant and convey a specific defamatory meaning of the claimant. An equivocal offer that does not admit reference to the claimant is not a valid offer under the Act. Therefore, the defendants' purported offer of amends was not valid, and the relevant paragraph of the Defence must be struck out.

Court Disposition

Claimant's application to strike out paragraph 6 of the Defence is granted; application for summary judgment on reference is refused.

Orders

  • Paragraph 6 of the Defence is struck out.
  • No summary judgment on the issue of reference.