GUYON MARC DUY AN v. BERTRAND ANTOINE JUBAULT AND ANOTHER

GUYON MARC DUY AN v. BERTRAND ANTOINE JUBAULT AND ANOTHER

The pleaded words, in their natural and ordinary meaning, were defamatory and referred to the plaintiff; defendants failed to file a valid defence or obtain leave to file out of time; service was effected; accordingly discretionary default judgment under O 19 r 7 was appropriate for libel, injunctive relief was appropriate to prevent further publication, and declarations were refused as not properly pleaded.

Citation
[2024] HKDC 284
Parties
Plaintiff: GUYON MARC DUY AN; 1st Defendant: BERTRAND ANTOINE JUBAULT; 2nd Defendant: ANTONIN CATERING LIMITED
Court
District Court
Jurisdiction
Hong Kong
Judgment Date
15 February 2024
Case Number
DCCJ2561/2023
Procedural Posture
Defamation (libel) / Default Judgment Application/decision Under O 19 R 7 RDC
Outcome
Judgment for plaintiff for libel against 1st defendant (in respect of all Published Words) and against 2nd defendant in respect of words pleaded at paragraph 7(a)–7(g) of the Statement of Claim; injunction granted; declarations refused; costs awarded to plaintiff.
Legal Topics
Default Judgment, Injunction, Damages, Service of Process, Publication
Source Language
EN
Defamation Civil Procedure Default Judgment Injunction Damages Service of Process Publication

Case Brief

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Parties

GUYON MARC DUY AN

Plaintiff

BERTRAND ANTOINE JUBAULT

1st Defendant

ANTONIN CATERING LIMITED

2nd Defendant

Procedural Posture

Defamation (libel) / Default Judgment Application/decision Under O 19 R 7 RDC

Legal Issues

  1. 1 Whether the published words are defamatory
  2. 2 Whether the published words referred to the plaintiff
  3. 3 Whether defendants published or caused publication

Ratio Decidendi

The pleaded words, in their natural and ordinary meaning, were defamatory and referred to the plaintiff; defendants failed to file a valid defence or obtain leave to file out of time; service was effected; accordingly discretionary default judgment under O 19 r 7 was appropriate for libel, injunctive relief was appropriate to prevent further publication, and declarations were refused as not properly pleaded.

Court Disposition

Judgment for plaintiff for libel against 1st defendant (in respect of all Published Words) and against 2nd defendant in respect of words pleaded at paragraph 7(a)–7(g) of the Statement of Claim; injunction granted; declarations refused; costs awarded to plaintiff.

Orders

  • Judgment for libel against 1st Defendant in respect of the Published Words
  • Judgment for libel against 2nd Defendant in respect of words pleaded at paragraph 7(a)–7(g) of the Statement of Claim