In defamation cases involving both an original publication and a republication where separate damages are assessed, the damages for the original publication must reflect only the harm directly caused by that publication and cannot include harm from the republication. The practice of requiring juries to assess damages under three separate headings (ordinary compensatory, aggravated, and exemplary) for a single publication is undesirable; aggravated damages are not a separate category but circumstances augmenting compensatory damages. Under District Court r 118(1), 'judgment no less favourable' encompasses non-monetary relief, so an offer including an apology does not render the rule inapplicable where the monetary award substantially exceeds the offer.
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