The Court held that r 36.01(6) of the NT Supreme Court Rules permits amendment of defamation claims to substitute the Northern Territory for the ICAC as defendant notwithstanding expiry of the limitation period, where the Territory had been on notice from the outset that it was the likely proper defendant and the claims were substantively the same. On internet defamation pleading, the Court held that a plaintiff must plead that defamatory material was downloaded and viewed by members of the public (or facts supporting that inference), but need not plead each individual instance of downloading. The Court refused leave to plead an implied term of good faith in the exercise of the power to terminate employment, holding that Commonwealth Bank of Australia v Barker precludes such implication whether framed as a term implied by law or in fact, and that the question whether good faith obligations attach to the exercise of contractual powers in employment contracts remains unresolved.
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