An appellate court will not disturb a jury's finding of substantial truth in defamation proceedings where there is evidence, even of limited weight, from which the jury could reasonably draw the necessary inferences, and the appellant must demonstrate that the respondent's narrative has been so utterly destroyed as to place it outside the competence of a jury to give any credence to the material parts of it. The costs regime under s 40 of the Defamation Act 2005 (NSW) operates alongside, and does not displace, the UCPR offer of compromise provisions and Calderbank principles. An appellate court will be reluctant to disturb a trial judge's assessment of the reasonableness of settlement offers absent an issue of principle or manifest error.
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