‘The Duchess of Sussex has won a high court bid to keep secret the identities of five friends who gave anonymous interviews to a US celebrity magazine, in the latest stage of her legal action against the owner of the Mail on Sunday.’
The Guardian, 5th August 2020
Source: www.theguardian.com
‘Despite being a libel case, Depp v News Group Newspapers Ltd & Another felt more like a criminal trial at the Old Bailey, or a domestic violence hearing in the family courts.’
The Guardian, 28th July 2020
Source: www.theguardian.com
‘After weeks of revelations and accusations in court about his personal relationships, actor Johnny Depp’s mammoth legal action against The Sun for libel is coming to an end – with a judgement expected at the end of the summer.’
BBC News, 28th July 2020
Source: www.bbc.co.uk
‘It is a common trope of media lawyers that defamation claims have been on the wane since the Defamation Act 2013, and that data protection law might be the way to fill the gap. (We at Panopticon scorn such arriviste tendencies.) And in Warby J, there is a willing champion of alignment of legal principles between defamation and data protection. He particularly emphasised the read-across in the context of complaints of inaccurate data processing in NT1 v Google LLC [2018] EWHC 799 (QB) (see here) and he has done so again in his very interesting judgment in Aven v Orbis Business Intelligence Ltd [2020] EWHC 1812 (QB).’
Panopticon, 20th July 2020
Source: panopticonblog.com
‘The recent case of Ameyaw v McGoldrick [2020] EWHC 1741 (QB) offers a cautionary tale about McKenzie Friends and what they can and can’t do for you in court. In this case the judge, Mrs Justice Steyn, refused to allow the MF to make oral submissions on behalf of the claimant, saying the claimant was a well-educated intelligent woman who had extensive experience of litigation, and was perfectly capable of speaking for herself.’
Transparency Project, 5th July 2020
Source: www.transparencyproject.org.uk
‘Johnny Depp has failed to stop his ex-wife Amber Heard from watching him give evidence in a libel case over allegations of domestic abuse.’
The Guardian, 4th July 2020
Source: www.theguardian.com
‘Johnny Depp has breached an order in a libel case by failing to disclose texts that apparently show him trying to obtain drugs, the high court has ruled.’
The Guardian, 29th June 2020
Source: www.theguardian.com
‘Rebekah Vardy has launched defamation proceedings against Coleen Rooney at the high court in London, in what could be an extraordinary legal case detailing the feud between the two women and their relationships with the British tabloid media.’
The Guardian, 23rd June 2020
Source: www.theguardian.com
‘England and Wales’ courts may be less open to international libel litigation following a Court of Appeal ruling which interprets legislation against ’libel tourism’. In Craig Wright v Roger Ver, the court upheld a decision by the High Court that England and Wales was not the appropriate place to hear a defamation action against claims published on social media by a US-born citizen of St Kitts & Nevis now resident in Japan.’
Law Society's Gazette, 2nd June 2020
Source: www.lawgazette.co.uk
‘This is, to say the least, a rather unfortunate saga. The Claimant, Mr Serafin, brought a defamation claim against a Polish newspaper run by the Defendants. An article had alleged various things including that he was financially untrustworthy and was dishonest in his dealings with women. At trial before Jay J, he represented himself. He was comprehensively disbelieved by the judge. His claim was dismissed, in most cases because the judge found that the article was accurate, but in some instances because the defendants had a public interest defence under s. 4 Defamation Act 2013.’
UK Human Rights Blog, 4th June 2020
Source: ukhumanrightsblog.com
‘Serafin had sued Malkiewicz & Ors for libel in respect of an article they had published about him in Nowy Czas, a newspaper addressing issues of interest to the Polish community in the UK. The Court of Appeal found that the conduct of the trial by Mr Justice Jay in the High Court had been unfair towards the claimant and allowed the claimant’s appeal. The defendants appealed against that finding to the Supreme Court. They also challenged the Court of Appeal’s analysis of the effect of the Defamation Act 2013, S4, which sets out “the public interest defence” to a defamation claim.’
UKSC Blog, 3rd June 2020
Source: ukscblog.com
‘A High Court judge “harassed and intimidated” a litigant in person in ways which “surely would never have occurred if the claimant had been represented”, the Supreme Court has ruled.’
Litigation Futures, 3rd June 2020
Source: www.litigationfutures.com
‘The supreme court has ordered the re-trial of a long-running libel case after finding that a high court judge, Mr Justice Jay, subjected the unrepresented claimant to a “barrage of hostility” and offensive language.’
The Guardian, 3rd June 2020
Source: www.theguardian.com
‘It should not be necessary for the court to make express directions as to what should be included in a hearing bundle but failures to collate them properly may force them to, a High Court judge has warned.’
Litigation Futures, 1st June 2020
Source: www.litigationfutures.com
‘Hollywood superstar Johnny Depp came up against the nuances of civil procedure rules yesterday after he asked for permission to call extra witnesses to his libel trial.’
Law Society's Gazette, 19th May 2020
Source: www.lawgazette.co.uk
‘Online comments made by the far right activist Tommy Robinson about a Syrian teenager amounted to accusations that the young refugee had “participated in a violent assault on a young girl” and “threatened to stab another child”, a judge has ruled.’
The Guardian, 21st April 2020
Source: www.theguardian.com
‘While words can mean different things to different people, in libel the parties are concerned with finding the single meaning the words complained of bear. Meaning is important, because it will determine to a large extent what defences a defendant could viably run (for example truth or honest opinion).’
Law Society's Gazette, 16th March 2020
Source: www.lawgazette.co.uk
© Inner Temple Library 2020