Ogbonna v Cti Logistics Ltd

[2021] WASCA 25

Western Australia Court of Appeal

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Interrogate

Catchwords

1. Defamation
2. › Publication
3. › Republication by third party
4. › Liability of original publisher for republication
5. › Whether republication was natural and probable consequence of original publication
6. › Internal email reproduced in court judgment published on AustLII website
7. › Whether chain of causation broken by intervening voluntary acts
1. Practice and Procedure
2. › Summary judgment
3. › Defamation proceedings
4. › Whether arguable case existed
5. › Standard for summary judgment in clearest of cases
1. Practice and Procedure
2. › Bias
3. › Actual bias
4. › Apprehended bias
5. › Whether conduct of trial judge demonstrated bias
6. › Standard of proof for actual bias

Quick Take

An original publisher of defamatory material in an internal workplace email is not liable for the republication of that material on the AustLII website where it appeared as part of a court judgment, because such republication is not a natural and probable consequence of the original publication. The chain of events from internal email to court proceedings to judgment to online publication is too remote. The question of whether an original publisher can rely on the s 28 Defamation Act 2005 (WA) public document defence available to a republisher remains open.