‘The Supreme Court’s recent clarification of the ‘serious harm’ threshold for defamation claims has been welcomed by newspapers as a victory for free speech. In fact, it is more likely to mean escalating costs and uncertainty for claimants and defendants alike.’
Law Society's Gazette, 8th July 2019
Source: www.lawgazette.co.uk
‘In Otuo v Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society of Britain [2019] EWHC 1349 (QB), Mr Otuo had been “disfellowshipped” by the Jehovah’s Witnesses and an announcement to that effect had been made at a meeting of the Wimbledon Congregation [1 & 2]. Further, during a meeting at which he sought to be reinstated, he had recorded surreptitiously one of those present making what he alleged to be a defamatory statement.’
Law and Religion UK, 20th June 2019
Source: www.lawandreligionuk.com
‘Lachaux v Independent Print Ltd and another [2019] UKSC 27. The Supreme Court has unanimously held that the Defamation Act 2013 altered the common law presumption of general damage in defamation. It is no longer sufficient for the imposition of liability that a statement is inherently injurious or has a “tendency” to injure a claimant’s reputation. Instead, the language of section 1(1) of the Act requires a statement to produce serious harm to reputation before it can be considered defamatory.’
UK Human Rights Blog, 17th june 2019
Source: ukhumanrightsblog.com
‘Careless tweeting costs money, so beware. That is the message coming from the courts, which over recent years have had to deal with the “Twibel” cases that have arisen from potentially libellous posts made on social media.’
The Guardian, 28th May 2019
Source: www.theguardian.com
‘”He tried to strangle me” – hardly innocuous words. But when Nicola Stocker posted them on Facebook in 2012 she could not have known it was the start of a 76-month libel dispute over two simple questions – questions that would reach the Supreme Court as Stocker v Stocker [2019] UKSC 17.’
Law Society's Gazette, 20th May 2019
Source: www.lawgazette.co.uk
‘The Syrian schoolboy who was filmed being attacked in a playground in Huddersfield is suing the far-right campaigner Tommy Robinson for accusing him of assaulting white schoolgirls.’
The Guardian, 15th May 2019
Source: www.theguardian.com
‘So after many of months of GDPR-related anguish, finally some good news for data controllers: with effect from last Saturday (6th April), conditional fee agreement (CFA) success fees will no longer be recoverable from defendants in privacy or defamation proceedings, at least where the relevant CFA was entered into after 5 April.’
Panopticon, 8th April 2019
Source: panopticonblog.com
‘A woman has won a libel battle against her ex-husband over comments she made on Facebook about him trying to strangle her.’
BBC News, 3rd April 2019
Source: www.bbc.co.uk
‘The Countdown presenter Rachel Riley and former EastEnders actor Tracy Ann Oberman are preparing legal action against up to 70 individuals for tweets relating to their campaign against antisemitism in the Labour party, according to the pair’s lawyer.’
The Guardian, 21st February 2019
Source: www.theguardian.com
‘Last week’s settlement of Martin Lewis’s high-profile defamation claim against Facebook presents a noteworthy challenge to regulators about the practical application of media law to publishers of online advertising campaigns.’
Litigation Futures, 30th January 2019
Source: www.litigationfutures.com
‘The Daily Telegraph has apologised “unreservedly” to Melania Trump and agreed to pay her “substantial damages” for an article it published last week.’
BBC News, 26th January 2019
Source: www.bbc.co.uk
‘A woman who claimed on Facebook that her ex-husband tried to strangle her is set to fight a judge’s ruling that she is guilty of defamation because he wasn’t trying to kill her. Nicola Stocker, 51, will argue before the Supreme Court that she had used common language to describe the attack by her millionaire ex-husband, for which he was arrested, when talking to his new lover.’
Daily Telegraph, 23rd January 2019
Source: www.telegraph.co.uk
‘Two national newspaper groups have obtained summary judgment over libel claims brought by a former senior social worker.’
Local Government Lawyer, 16th January 2019
Source: www.localgovernmentlawyer.co.uk
‘Publishers that lose defamation and privacy cases brought against them in England and Wales will not be forced to pay the “success fee” charged by lawyers of the successful party via so-called ‘conditional fee arrangements’ (CFAs) under cost reforms due to be implemented in April next year.’
OUT-LAW.com, 3rd December 2018
Source: www.out-law.com
‘The government is to abolish the recoverability of success fees in defamation cases – but retain it for after-the-event (ATE) insurance premiums, it announced yesterday.’
Litigation Futures, 30th November 2018
Source: www.litigationfutures.com
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