DEFAMATION — statements said to have published by the Maritime Union of Australia (MUA) — Bureau of Meteorology forecasts — severe weather conditions — ship master's discretion -"Cyclone Response Plan" -existence of "contingency plan" — "Job Hazard Analysis" (JHA) — impact of "storm surge" — expert report on behaviour of tropical cyclones — no expert evidence to support questions regarding Cyclone Response Plan.
DEFAMATION — publication — MUA and Cootamundara Herald online articles — "bilateral" nature of publications — utterance comprehended by reader, listener or observer — publication of someone else's defamatory statement by use of a hyperlink — responsibility of person approving, adopting or promoting the defamatory statement of another — "shallow" or "deep" hyperlinks — Crookes v Newton [2011] 3 SCR 269 — MUA responsible for publication of Cootamundara Herald article.
DEFAMATION — justification — truth — whether imputations carried by online articles were "substantially true" — particulars of truth — imputations not justified — substantial truth defence fails — absence of expert or similar evidence concerning ship master's conduct.
DEFAMATION — Hore-Lacy defence -"common string" not established — defence fails.
Case Details
Citation[2014] NSWSC 350
CourtNSWSC
JurisdictionNew South Wales
Unlock so much more with Barrister AI
The full text is available to signed-in members, including the 18 later cases that cite this judgment.
3 of the 18 citing cases carry a classified treatment. How each court treated it is available to signed-in members.
