Gazza’s ex in libel damages win – BBC News
“The former wife of Paul Gascoigne has accepted undisclosed libel damages over a claim her financial demands caused his relapse into alcoholism.”
BBC News, 9th October 2009
Source: www.bbc.co.uk
Category: defamation
Government plans to curb costs in defamation proceedings – Ministry of Justice
“Steps to tackle excessive legal fees in defamation proceedings were announced today by Justice Secretary, Jack Straw.”
Ministry of Justice, 24th September 2009
Source: www.justice.gov.uk
McCann lawyers seek site removal – BBC News
“Lawyers for the parents of missing toddler Madeleine McCann have demanded the removal of a website which claims their daughter is dead.”
BBC News, 19th September 2009
Source: www.bbc.co.uk
Government may shield websites from libel claims with ‘single publication’ rule – OUT-LAW.com
“The Government could scrap a part of defamation law that makes newspapers liable many times for material in a single article. The Government may prevent people suing every time a web page ‘publishes’ an article.”
OUT-LAW.com, 17th September 2009
Source: www.out-law.com
Plan to update libel law for web – BBC News
“Proposals to overhaul the libel laws and update them for the internet age have been revealed by the government.”
BBC News, 16th September 2009
Source: www.bbc.co.uk
Defamation on the internet: Ministry of Justice seeks your views – Ministry of Justice
“A debate on aspects of defamation law, and how it works in the internet age, was launched today by the Ministry of Justice.”
Ministry of Justice, 16th September 2009
Source: www.justice.gov.uk
UK lawyer threatens Facebook, mulls action against ISPs to block defamation – OUT-LAW.com
“The lawyer who has threatened Facebook with a defamation suit on behalf of boxing promoter Frank Warren has said that he may take action against internet service providers (ISPs) for US-published defamation.”
OUT-LAW.com, 15th September 2009
Source: www.out-law.com
Amir Khan and Frank Warren launch legal bid to force Facebook to remove ‘racist’ content – Daily Telegraph
“British boxing champion Amir Khan and his promoter, Frank Warren, have launched a legal campaign to force Facebook to tackle ‘highly defamatory’ or abusive postings.”
Daily Telegraph, 10th September 2009
Source: www.telegraph.co.uk
Desmond v Bower – Times Law Reports
Court of Appeal
“A defendant who wished to call similar-fact evidence to justify an alleged libel was entitled to do so even though the evidence related to events after the libel was published.”
The Times, 4th August 2009
Source: www.timesonline.co.uk
Metropolitan International Schools Ltd v Designtechnica Corporation and Others – Times Law Reports
Metropolitan International Schools Ltd v Designtechnica Corporation and Others
Queen’s Bench Division
“An internet search engine was not a publisher at common law.”
The Times, 3rd August 2009
Source: www.timesonline.co.uk
Peter Andre wins libel payout from the People newspaper – The Guardian
“Singer Peter Andre accepts undisclosed but substantial libel damages from the People newspaper.”
The Guardian, 31st July 2009
Source: www.guardian.co.uk
Trade libel lawsuits soar – OUT-LAW.com
“The number of defamation cases brought by businesses has trebled in the past year, according to a legal publisher. The number of defamation cases overall increased by a third in the same period.”
OUT-LAW.com, 30th July 2009
Source: www.out-law.com
Desmond v Bower – WLR Daily
Desmond v Bower [2009] EWCA Civ 667; [2009] WLR (D) 258
“The reasoning of the judge refusing the defendant in a libel trial permission to call evidence of discreditable behaviour by the claimant subsequent to the alleged libel was a matter of law in which the appellate court was entitled to intervene. Evidence of discreditable behaviour similar to that described in the alleged libel could be admitted even though the evidence concerned behaviour subsequent to the libel.”
WLR Daily, 28th July 2009
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.
Richard Desmond loses libel case against Tom Bower – The Guardian
“High court jury rejects Express owner Richard Desmond’s libel case against author Tom Bower by majority verdict.”
The Guardian, 24th July 2009
Source: www.guardian.co.uk
Google cleared of responsibility for indexing defamatory comments – Daily Telegraph
“A landmark ruling in the High Court has cleared Google of all responsibility for indexing defamatory comments that appear in blogs, news articles and forums.”
Daily Telegraph, 20th July 2009
Source: www.telegraph.co.uk
Child database: danger of malicious reporting – The Independent
“Members of the public are to be given the power to report anyone they suspect of posing a danger to children, under a new Government scheme.”
The Independent, 18th July 2009
Source: www.independent.co.uk
BBC pays damages to Muslim leader – BBC News
“The BBC has agreed to pay £45,000 in damages to the head of the Muslim Council of Britain over a libellous claim in the Question Time programme.”
BBC News, 16th July 2009
Source: www.bbc.co.uk
Beckinsale awarded libel damages – BBC News
“Actress Kate Beckinsale has been awarded £20,000 libel damages over a newspaper claim that she had been dropped from a remake of Barbarella.”
BBC News, 9th July 2009
Source: www.bbc.co.uk
Media tycoon Richard Desmond in High Court libel battle – Daily Telegraph
“Richard Desmond, owner of Express Newspapers, is suing investigative biographer Tom Bower for suggesting he made a ‘humiliating’ apology to Conrad Black, the former proprietor of The Daily Telegraph.”
Daily Telegraph, 6th July 2009
Source: www.telegraph.co.uk
Express proprietor, Richard Desmond, in libel action against journalist – The Times
“Richard Desmond, the owner of the Daily and Sunday Express,will become the first newspaper proprietor to take the stand in the High Court since Robert Maxwell, when he launches his libel action against the investigative journalist Tom Bower on Monday.”
The Times, 4th July 2009
Source: www.timesonline.co.uk
