Dupois v Queensland Television Ltd & Ors

[2015] QCA 160

Queensland Court of Appeal

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Interrogate

Catchwords

1. Practice and Procedure
2. › Summary judgment
3. › Dismissal of part of claim
4. › No real prospect of succeeding
5. › Defamation claim for economic loss
6. › Whether plaintiff had realistic prospect of establishing $50 million economic loss
7. › Uniform Civil Procedure Rules 1999 (Qld), r 293
1. Appeal
2. › Admission of further evidence
3. › Special grounds
4. › Whether evidence could have been obtained with reasonable diligence
5. › Whether evidence would have had important influence on result
6. › Whether evidence credible
7. › Uniform Civil Procedure Rules 1999 (Qld), r 766(1)(c)
1. Evidence
2. › Expert evidence
3. › Admissibility
4. › Relevance of expert report
5. › Qualifications of expert
6. › Independence of expert witness
7. › Compliance with rules of court
8. › Uniform Civil Procedure Rules 1999 (Qld), r 428

Quick Take

A claim for economic loss in defamation proceedings may be summarily dismissed under UCPR r 293 where the plaintiff's only expert evidence is inadmissible (irrelevant and non-compliant with court rules) and no other evidence supports the viability of the alleged financial undertaking said to have been disrupted by the defamation. The case also illustrates that an expert who is a shareholder in a party to the litigation faces serious questions about independence sufficient to undermine their standing to give expert evidence.