An imputation that a person lies to their customers in the course of business will ordinarily be regarded as defamatory, and a jury finding to the contrary will be perverse. Where a jury perversely finds an imputation not defamatory, the Court will generally order retrial of both the conveyance and defamatory quality issues on the basis that the perverse finding suggests a compromise verdict. Section 108(3) of the Supreme Court Act 1970 empowers the Court of Appeal to direct a verdict on s 7A issues, though the Court will decline to exercise this power where the existence of the imputation is arguable.
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