Feo & Anor v Pioneer Concrete (Vic) Pty Ltd

[1999] VSCA 180

Victorian Court of Appeal

Built by Barristers,
For Australian Law.

See how it works

Interrogate

Catchwords

1. Defamation
2. › Slander
3. › Proof of words spoken
4. › Whether precise words pleaded must be proved
5. › Sufficiency of proof that words conveying defamatory meaning were published
1. Defamation
2. › Slander
3. › Qualified privilege
4. › Malice
5. › Whether express malice defeated privilege
6. › Whether court may have regard to conduct extraneous to the privileged occasion
7. › Whether honest belief in truth of statements
1. Defamation
2. › Slander
3. › Slander of a trading corporation
4. › Actionable per se
5. › Whether slander of a corporation in the way of its business is actionable without proof of special damage
6. › Assessment of damages for corporate defamation
1. Appeal
2. › Appellate review of findings of fact
3. › Trial judge's advantage in assessing credibility of witnesses
4. › Standard for setting aside findings based on credibility

Quick Take

Slander of a trading corporation in the way of its business is actionable per se without proof of special damage; the law presumes damage to the corporation's trading reputation. Damages for corporate defamation are assessed having regard to financial and commercial considerations, not injury to 'reputation as such'. In proving malice to defeat qualified privilege, the court may have regard to the defendant's entire course of conduct before and after the publication, not merely the words used on the privileged occasion.