Criminal convictions recorded after a defamatory publication but before the assessment of damages are admissible in mitigation of the vindication component of damages, extending the principle in Goody v Odhams Press Ltd beyond convictions recorded prior to publication. The court respectfully disagreed with Rochford v John Fairfax & Sons (1972) 1 NSWLR 16 on this point. A volunteered communication by a shop employee to a customer about a third party's payment habits does not attract qualified privilege where the employee had no duty or instruction to make the communication and the parties did not share a common interest the law would protect.
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