Financial Mail (Pty) Ltd. and Others v Sage Holdings Ltd. and Another (612/90) [1993] ZASCA 3; 1993 (2) SA 451 (AD); [1993] 2 All SA 109 (A) (18 February 1993)

Financial Mail (Pty) Ltd. and Others v Sage Holdings Ltd. and Another (612/90) [1993] ZASCA 3; 1993 (2) SA 451 (AD); [1993] 2 All SA 109 (A) (18 February 1993)

The Supreme Court of Appeal held that the publication by the appellants of information derived from the confidential sources—the unlawfully obtained telephone tapes and the Allied document—would have infringed Sage's right to privacy and constituted unlawful competition. The court found no overriding public interest justifying publication of such sensitive and confidential business information. The publication agreement did not amount to a waiver of the respondents' rights to object to publication of unlawful or defamatory material, as its terms were ambiguous and did not clearly grant carte blanche to the appellants. The respondents were therefore entitled to the interdicts granted by...

Citation
[1993] ZASCA 3
Parties
Appellant: Financial Mail (Pty) Ltd; Appellant: Times Media Ltd; Appellant: Michael Coulson; Appellant: Jim Jones; Appellant: KNL Publishing (Pty) Ltd; Respondent: Sage Holdings Ltd; Respondent: Louis Shill
Court
Supreme Court of Appeal
Jurisdiction
South Africa
Judgment Date
18 February 1993
Case Number
612/90
Procedural Posture
Civil Appeal / Appeal From Final Interdict Granted by Witwatersrand Local Division
Outcome
Appeal dismissed with costs, including costs of two counsel.
Judges
Corbett, Van Heerden, Kumleben, Goldstone, Howie
Legal Topics
Unlawful Competition, Right to Privacy, Defamation of Corporate Entities, Confidential Information, Interdict, Waiver of Rights
Commercial and Corporate Civil Procedure Unlawful Competition Right to Privacy Defamation of Corporate Entities Confidential Information Interdict Waiver of Rights

Case Brief

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Parties

Financial Mail (Pty) Ltd

Appellant

Times Media Ltd

Appellant

Michael Coulson

Appellant

Jim Jones

Appellant

KNL Publishing (Pty) Ltd

Appellant

Sage Holdings Ltd

Respondent

Louis Shill

Respondent

Procedural Posture

Civil Appeal / Appeal From Final Interdict Granted by Witwatersrand Local Division

Legal Issues

  1. 1 Whether the use by appellants of information derived from confidential sources (tapes and Allied document) in a published article would have been unlawful.
  2. 2 Whether the proposed article contained defamatory statements or injurious falsehoods concerning the respondents.
  3. 3 Whether the publication agreement precluded respondents from taking action to prevent publication of the article.

Ratio Decidendi

The Supreme Court of Appeal held that the publication by the appellants of information derived from the confidential sources—the unlawfully obtained telephone tapes and the Allied document—would have infringed Sage's right to privacy and constituted unlawful competition. The court found no overriding public interest justifying publication of such sensitive and confidential business information. The publication agreement did not amount to a waiver of the respondents' rights to object to publication of unlawful or defamatory material, as its terms were ambiguous and did not clearly grant carte blanche to the appellants. The respondents were therefore entitled to the interdicts granted by...

Court Disposition

Appeal dismissed with costs, including costs of two counsel.

Orders

  • The appeal is dismissed with costs, including the costs of two counsel.