New Zealand Case Law: Decisions & Judgments | LexChat

New Zealand Case Law

Publisher liability

  • 31 May 2021

    SMITH v KING [2021] NZHC 1252

    Citation
    [2021] NZHC 1252
    Court
    High Court

    The August 2020 and December 2020 Facebook publications bore the pleaded defamatory meanings and identified the plaintiff; Mr King was a publisher of both posts; Ms Keenan, as the Facebook page owner, had actual knowledge (including replying to the December post) and failed to remove the material within a reasonable time and thereby adopted responsibility; declaration of liability entered against both defendants and solicitor-client costs awarded under s 24(2); permanent injunction refused because restraint of expression was not justified on these facts.

  • 19 Sept 2014

    MURRAY v WISHART CA222/2013 [2014] NZCA 461

    Citation
    [2014] 3 NZLR 722
    Court
    Court of Appeal

    Appeal allowed in part: High Court ruling that the host of a Facebook page could be a publisher on an 'ought to know' test was quashed; Court of Appeal holds the appropriate test for Facebook page hosts is actual knowledge of the specific defamatory third‑party posts and failure to remove them within a reasonable time (or conduct implying adoption/responsibility), not a general 'ought to know' strict liability test; plaintiff must replead third‑party claims to plead actual knowledge and reasonable time to remove; otherwise High Court findings that various direct statements were capable of bea…