University of Sussex to pay student protester £20,000 in damages – The Guardian

Posted October 16th, 2015 in damages, defamation, demonstrations, news, universities by sally

‘The University of Sussex has apologised to a former student, admitting there was “no truth” in its claim that he’d led an unlawful occupation of the university and carried out acts of criminal behaviour.’

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The Guardian, 15th October 2015

Source: www.guardian.co.uk

Courts likely to look for evidence that journalists have verified alleged defamatory statements, says expert – OUT-LAW.com

Posted October 16th, 2015 in defamation, evidence, media, news, Privy Council, public interest by sally

‘Journalists seeking to rely on the new ‘public interest’ defence to a claim of defamation will still have to be able to prove that they have taken steps to verify the accuracy of what they have published, an expert has said.’

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OUT-LAW.com, 15th October 2015

Source: www.out-law.com

Ex-MP Tim Yeo sues Sunday Times over ‘cash for advocacy’ claims – BBC News

Posted October 13th, 2015 in codes of practice, defamation, media, news, parliament by tracey

‘A former Conservative MP has told a court his reputation had been “trashed” by a national newspaper which alleged he breached parliamentary codes of conduct.’

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BBC News, 12th October 2015

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

Injunction and damages in libel case awarded against anonymous website – UK Human Rights Blog

Posted September 18th, 2015 in damages, defamation, injunctions, internet, news by tracey

‘Brett Wilson LLP v Person(s) Unknown, Responsible for the Operation of the Website solicitorsfromhell.co.uk, 7 September (Warby J) [2015] EWHC 2628 (QB). This was a claim in libel by a firm of solicitors who acted for another firm which also claimed against the operators of SFHUK, causing the original site to be shut down (Law Society v Rick Kordowski [2011]). In this case the words complained of appeared on a new site, but despite efforts by the present claimants, it was not possible to find out who was operating it. The site alleged various aspects of mismanagement, including incompetence and fraud. It also quoted a client of the claimant firm who alleged overcharging and who refused to pay their fees. (It is worth noting that the site appears to have been taken down since default judgement was given in this case).’

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UK Human Rights Blog, 17th September 2015

Source: www.ukhumanrightsblog.com

Judge orders removal of defamatory references to law firm on Solicitors From Hell copycat website – Legal Futures

Posted September 17th, 2015 in defamation, injunctions, internet, law firms, news by tracey

‘A High Court judge has ordered the take-down of pages of an anti-solicitor website that contain defamatory statements about a law firm, after a litigation opponent alleged their publication was “evidence that the firm was disreputable”.’

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Legal Futures, 17th September 2015

Source: www.legalfutures.co.uk

Soviet dissident sues Crown Prosecution Service, alleging libel – The Guardian

‘The veteran Soviet dissident Vladimir Bukovsky is suing the Crown Prosecution Service for libel over a statement it issued in April announcing that he was being charged with child pornography offences.’

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The Guardian, 24th August 2015

Source: www.guardian.co.uk

Proof of reputational damage necessary for libel actions to succeed, rules High Court – OUT-LAW.com

Posted August 6th, 2015 in defamation, evidence, media, news by sally

‘Businesses and people that bring libel actions should not succeed with those claims unless there is proof that the published comments made about them damage, or are likely to damage, their reputation, the High Court in London has ruled.’

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OUT-LAW.com, 5th August 2015

Source: www.out-law.com

Lachaux v Independent Print Ltd; Lachaux v Evening Standard Ltd; Lachaux v AOL – WLR Daily

Posted August 4th, 2015 in defamation, law reports, news by sally

Lachaux v Independent Print Ltd; Lachaux v Evening Standard Ltd; Lachaux v AOL (UK) Ltd [2015] EWHC 2242 (QB); [2015] WLR (D) 345

‘The effect of section 1(1) of the Defamation Act 2013 was that a statement was not defamatory of a person unless it had caused or would probably cause serious harm to that person’s reputation, those being matters to be proved by the claimant on the balance of probabilities.’

WLR Daily, 30th July 2015

Source: www.iclr.co.uk

Online platforms face growing risk of defamation claims, says expert – OUT-LAW.com

Posted June 17th, 2015 in defamation, internet, media, news by sally

‘The rise in the number of defamation claims before the High Court and Court of Appeal in London last year could reflect the growing risk online platforms face from such claims, an expert has said.’

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OUT-LAW.com, 16th June 2015

Source: www.out-law.com

Freddie Starr sues over grope claim – BBC News

Posted June 16th, 2015 in damages, defamation, news, public interest by sally

‘Comedian Freddie Starr is claiming damages from a woman who says he groped her when she was 15.’

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BBC News, 15th June 2015

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

European Court of Human Rights: Lawyers do not have same freedom to speak out as journalists – Legal Futures

Posted May 29th, 2015 in defamation, freedom of expression, human rights, legal profession, news by sally

‘Lawyers do not have the same rights to speak out on sensitive and high-profile cases as journalists, the Grand Chamber of the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) has ruled.’

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Legal Futures, 29th May 2015

Source: www.legalfutures.co.uk

Sir Roger Moore wins damages over ‘grope’ claim – BBC News

Posted May 14th, 2015 in damages, defamation, news by tracey

‘The actor Sir Roger Moore has accepted undisclosed libel damages over claims that he groped a woman while shooting James Bond film For Your Eyes Only. The 87-year-old also received an apology and his legal costs over a story that appeared in the Daily Mail and on Mail Online in October 2014.’

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BBC News, 13th May 2015

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

Stalking victim warns of legal loophole – BBC News

Posted April 30th, 2015 in civil justice, criminal justice, defamation, harassment, news, stalking, victims by sally

‘Stalkers must be stopped from using a loophole in the legal system to harass their targets, a victim has said.’

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BBC News, 29th April 2015

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

TV ‘exposure’ of Scientology halted by UK libel law split – The Guardian

‘Plans to broadcast HBO’s Church of Scientology exposé, Going Clear, have been shelved by Sky Atlantic in a virtual repeat of events two years ago, when UK publishers abandoned publication of the book on which the hard-hitting new TV documentary is based.’

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The Guardian, 18th April 2015

Source: www.guardian.co.uk

Libel and slander – Law Society’s Gazette

Posted March 31st, 2015 in defamation, legislation, news by sally

‘The Defamation Act 2013 in some respects reformed the English law on defamation. Here are example cases in which it has been applied since last January.’

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Law Society’s Gazette, 30th March 2015

Source: www.lawgazette.co.uk

How to sue in respect of abusive comments on the Internet – UK Human Rights Blog

Posted March 26th, 2015 in defamation, internet, law firms, news by sally

‘The facts of this case are simple. A defamatory comment was posted on the claimant’s Google maps directional page, implying that he was a “loser” as a lawyer and that his firm lost “80%” of cases brought to them. The defendant claimed that someone must have hacked in to his own Google account to put up the post.’

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UK Human Rights Blog, 25th March 2015

Source: www.ukhumanrightsblog.com

Section 1 Defamation Act 2013: Will the test of the hypothetical reasonable reader be replaced by that of the twitter troll? – 5RB

Posted March 17th, 2015 in defamation, freedom of expression, news by sally

‘In this article, 5RB‘s Adrienne Page QC discusses what section 1 Defamation Act 2013 means in practice, and how it may affect both claimants and free speech.’

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5RB, 10th February 2015

Source: www.5rb.com

High Court awards £50,000 damages to lawyer libelled in online review – Legal Futures

Posted March 9th, 2015 in damages, defamation, internet, news by tracey

‘An American lawyer has successfully sued over an online review posted by a British man, winning £50,000 damages at the High Court.’

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Legal Futures, 9th March 2015

Source: www.legalfutures.co.uk

Lawyers ‘are using threats to stop negative client reviews’ – The Independent

Posted March 6th, 2015 in consumer protection, defamation, internet, intimidation, law firms, news by sally

‘Thin-skinned lawyers are abusing their legal standing by threatening defamation action against members of the public who post negative reviews of their services on TripAdvisor-style websites.’

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The Independent, 5th March 2015

Source: www.independent.co.uk

Complaints to solicitors’ regulator over libel demands from Galloway’s lawyers – The Guardian

Posted March 4th, 2015 in damages, defamation, news, racism, Solicitors Regulation Authority by sally

‘Complaints have been sent to the Solicitors Regulation Authority by Twitter users who have received £6,000 libel demands from solicitors working for the MP George Galloway.’

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The Guardian, 4th March 2015

Source: www.guardian.co.uk