On 20 May 2021, the High Court of Australia pronounced orders dismissing an application for special leave to appeal the decision of the Court of Appeal dismissing an appeal against the judgment obtained at trial in favour of the mass-media defendant WIN Television NSW Pty Ltd.
Sue Chrysanthou SC and Barry Dean from 153 Phillip acted for WIN Television in responding to the application to the High Court for special leave and previously appeared for WIN Television before the NSW Court of Appeal. Sue Chrysanthou appeared by herself at trial in the Supreme Court before Justice Fagan.
On 22 December 2020, the NSW Court of Appeal (Meagher and White JJA, Simpson AJA) gave judgment dismissing an appeal against the judgment of Justice Fagan in the Supreme Court dismissing after trial a claim in defamation against WIN Television for a news broadcast. The Court of Appeal dismissed the appeal after upholding a notice of contention that a defence under s30 of the Defamation Act 2005 (NSW) was established because WIN Television’s conduct was reasonable in all the circumstances. This was a rare occasion where a mass-media defendant had succeeded in establishing a section 30 defence. Justice Fagan had delivered judgment in favour of WIN Television after the trial on 24 March 2020.
153 Phillip congratulates Sue Chrysanthou SC and Barry Dean on this outcome.
Read the full judgments at trial and on appeal: