Television  New Zealand Limited v Simunovich Fisheries Limited and others - SC 70/2008

Summary

Civil – Defamation – whether the Court of Appeal erred in finding that the repetition and conduct rules of pleading apply to a defence of truth – whether the Court of Appeal was wrong to find that a defendant may not seek to prove the truth of imputations by reference to the opinions or assertions of others – did the Court of Appeal err in holding that s 38 does not permit third party assertions and opinion to be pleaded for the defence of truth – was the Court of Appeal wrong to find that a defendant is not entitled to rely on third party assertions as publication facts on which a defence of honest opinion is based, but must identify true statements of facts in the publication which may not include the fact that others made allegations or expressed opinions.[2008] NZCA  350  CA 447/07 CA 584/07     8 September  2008

Result

Application for leave to appeal granted.

1 December 2008

________________________

Appeal dismissed.

Costs $15,000 to the respondent jointly with one half of their disbursements.

26 August 2009

Additional Information