Newspaper does not have to identify anonymous commenters, rules High Court – OUT-LAW.com

Posted February 28th, 2011 in anonymity, defamation, internet, media, news, privacy by sally

“The Daily Mail does not have to identify the people behind two anonymously posted comments on its website because to do so would breach their rights to privacy, the High Court has said.”

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OUT-LAW.com, 28th February 2011

Source: www.out-law.com

Phone-hacking libel claim contested by Metropolitan police – The Guardian

Posted February 28th, 2011 in defamation, documents, interception, news, police, telecommunications by sally

“Scotland Yard is to contest a lawsuit that could establish the true number of victims in the News of the World phone-hacking scandal.”

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The Guardian, 26th February 2011

Source: www.guardian.co.uk

Crisis of identity: why English law needs to protect our personalities – The Guardian

Posted February 24th, 2011 in confidentiality, defamation, freedom of expression, media, news by sally

“Portrayals of real people in docudramas and novels have made millions for authors and film-makers. But what of their subjects?”

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The Guardian, 23rd February 2011

Source: www.guardian.co.uk

Rival guilty of paedophile slur against MP Mike Hancock – BBC News

Posted February 24th, 2011 in defamation, elections, fines, news by sally

“A rival who falsely claimed a Liberal Democrat MP was a paedophile has been convicted of attempting to affect a result in the general election.”

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BBC News, 23rd February 2011

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

Facebook threatens to sue Daily Mail over paedophile story – The Guardian

Posted February 23rd, 2011 in child abuse, defamation, internet, media, news by sally

“Facebook is threatening legal action against the Daily Mail amid a dispute over the headline of a front page story that named the social networking website in the context of a story about a paedophile gang operating in Devon.”

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The Guardian, 22nd February 2011

Source: www.guardian.co.uk

Lawyer wins £10,000 damages from Solicitors from Hell owner – Law Society’s Gazette

Posted February 18th, 2011 in damages, defamation, internet, news, solicitors by sally

“A judge has condemned the owner of the Solicitors from Hell website for his conduct when committing a serious libel against a young solicitor.”

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Law Society’s Gazette, 17th February 2011

Source: www.lawgazette.co.uk

Brady v Norman – WLR Daily

Posted February 10th, 2011 in defamation, law reports, personal injuries, time limits by sally

Brady v Norman [2011] EWCA Civ 107; [2011] WLR (D) 40

“The policy behind the limitation period for defamation cases being shorter than that in personal injuries claims was clear, since the defamatory impact of libel or slander was likely to be transient and Parliament evidently intended that a claimant should assert and pursue his need for vindication speedily. Considerations as to prejudice in applications for the disapplication of the time limit in defamation cases were likely to be different than those in personal injuries cases and in defamation cases it was for the claimant to make out a case for the disapplication of the normal time limit.”

WLR Daily, 9th February 2011

Source: www.lawreports.co.uk

Please note once a case has been fully reported in one of the ICLR series the corresponding WLR Daily summary is removed.

Holy man looks set to drop libel case – The Independent

Posted February 2nd, 2011 in costs, defamation, news, payment into court by sally

“An Indian Sikh holy man who is suing a journalist in the British courts for libel has been ordered to put up quarter of million pounds in security costs in order to pursue the case further.”

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The Independent, 1st February 2011

Source: www.independent.co.uk

Campbell libel ruling exposes ‘deeply flawed’ CFA system – Law Society’s Gazette

Posted January 28th, 2011 in costs, defamation, fees, freedom of expression, news by sally

“Bumper success fees for lawyers in libel cases will soon be a thing of the past following last week’s ruling by the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) in the Naomi Campbell case, solicitors predicted this week.”

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Law Society’s Gazette, 27th January 2011

Source: www.lawgazette.co.uk

European court deals blow to no win, no fee deals in Naomi Campbell case – The Guardian

Posted January 19th, 2011 in defamation, fees, human rights, news, privacy by sally

“The European court of human rights today (18 January) unanimously ruled that the recovery of success fees by lawyers in privacy and defamation cases represents a significant violation of freedom of expression, in a case brought by the publisher of the Daily Mirror.”

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The Guardian, 18th January 2011

Source: www.guardian.co.uk

Related link: Full judgment: Mirror Group News v UK

Soil Association given libel warning after objection to huge pig farm – The Guardian

Posted January 19th, 2011 in agriculture, animals, defamation, news, planning by sally

“When a charity objected to plans for a pig factory for up to 25,000 animals, they expected a fight. But now the battle looks likely to intensify after the leading London lawyers Carter-Ruck threatened libel proceedings.”

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The Guardian, 18th January 2011

Source: www.guardian.co.uk

Email claims lead to £30,000 libel payout – OUT-LAW.com

Posted January 17th, 2011 in damages, defamation, interpreters, news by sally

“An interpreter has won £30,000 in libel damages over claims in an email sent to fellow interpreters which claimed that she abused her position in a trade body to further her private interests.”

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OUT-LAW.com, 14th January 2011

Source: www.out-law.com

Libel success fees – myth and reality – Law Society’s Gazette

Posted January 13th, 2011 in defamation, fees, news by sally

“There is a myth that claimant libel lawyers win almost every libel case they bring and charge double their fees, which must be paid by the defendant, usually a media organisation. The reality is very different.”

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Law Society’s Gazette, 13th January 2011

Source: www.lawgazette.co.uk

Reform of libel laws set to open up the right of free speech – The Independent

Posted January 7th, 2011 in defamation, freedom of expression, news by sally

“Sweeping changes to England’s much-criticised libel laws will be introduced, Nick Clegg will announce today.”

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The Independent, 7th January 2011

Source: www.independent.co.uk

Clift v Slough Borough Council – WLR Daily

Posted January 4th, 2011 in defamation, law reports, privacy, privilege by sally

Clift v Slough Borough Council [2010] EWCA Civ 1171; [2010] WLR (D) 343

“Where a public authority had widely disclosed information about a person who had been in contact with its staff, both stating that she had been placed on its violent persons register and enclosing the entry itself, it was relevant, when looking to the applicability of qualified privilege, to have regard to the art 8 Convention rights of the person so identified and also to look to the proportionality of the disclosure itself.”

WLR Daily, 22nd December 2010

Source: www.lawreports.co.uk

Please note once a case has been fully reported in one of the ICLR series the corresponding WLR Daily summary is removed.

Disputed web pages must be hidden, warns High Court – OUT-LAW.com

Posted December 16th, 2010 in defamation, intellectual property, internet, news by sally

“A disgruntled ex-agent must redirect domain names he owns to blank pages rather than to near-copies of the website of a company for which he acted, the High Court has said. The sites broke laws on passing off, the Court said.”

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OUT-LAW.com, 15th December 2010

Source: www.out-law.com

Supreme Court modifies libel law described by minister as ‘not fit for purpose’ – OUT-LAW.

Posted December 10th, 2010 in defamation, news by sally

“The defence of ‘fair comment’ in libel actions will become a slightly-amended defence of ‘honest comment’, the Supreme Court has ruled, as Government minister Lord McNally said that current libel law is ‘not fit for purpose.’ ”

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OUT-LAW.com, 7th December 2010

Source: www.out-law.com

Roman Abramovich sues Daily Mirror – The Guardian

Posted December 10th, 2010 in defamation, news by sally

“Chelsea FC owner takes legal action over ‘inflammatory’ story that manager Carlo Ancelotti had three weeks to save his job.”

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The Guardian, 10th December 2010

Source: www.guardian.co.uk

Woolas’s exit paves way for BNP to stand in by-election – The Independent

Posted December 6th, 2010 in defamation, elections, news, parliament by sally

“Phil Woolas has given up his battle against becoming the first MP for almost a century to lose his seat for lying about an opponent.”

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The Independent, 4th December 2010

Source: www.independent.co.uk

Joseph v Spiller – WLR Daily

Posted December 3rd, 2010 in defamation, defences, law reports by sally

Joseph v Spiller [2010] UKSC 53; [2010] WLR (D) 310

“The defence in defamation proceedings of fair comment – to be renamed ‘honest comment’ – did not require that the comment had to identify the matters on which it was based with sufficient particularity to enable readers to judge for themselves whether it was well founded. The comment did, however, have to identify at least in general terms what it was that had led the commentator to make the comment”

WLR Daily, 2nd December 2010

Source: www.lawreports.co.uk

Please note once a case has been fully reported in one of the ICLR series the corresponding WLR Daily summary is removed.