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The High Court has granted a technology company leave to amend its defence and to obtain discovery in a long-running defamation and malicious falsehood claim brought by a public figure arising from online publications about her relative's criminal trial. The amendments allow the technology company to adopt certain defences previously raised by a newspaper publisher, including arguments regarding truth, fair and accurate court reporting, and qualified privilege, as well as to introduce a plea based on settlements the plaintiff made with other media publishers. The court found that, while the motion for amendment was delayed, most prejudice to the plaintiff resulted from long periods of inactivity in progressing the claim, and therefore stringent case management directions and limited discovery were appropriate to reduce further delay. The court also concluded that the proposed legal arguments, though complex and novel, were not clearly bound to fail and should be permitted to proceed.
defamation – malicious falsehood – amendment of defence – discovery order – qualified privilege – truth defence – fair and accurate report – concurrent wrongdoers – delay and prejudice – case management – Rules of the Superior Courts (RSC) – Defamation Act 2009 – Civil Liability Act 1961 – settlement agreements – online publications
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