Noble Law Defamation Solicitors

Reid V dukic [2016] actsc 344

The Facebook Post Defamation Case

Facts -The defendant had published nine statements as posts on his own Facebook page.  The plaintiff was the CEO at Captain Football Pty Ltd.
The imputations were, amongst others, that the plaintiff was dishonest, fraudulent, had misappropriated funds, was incompetent, gender biased, racist etc, in her capacity as CEO of Captain Football. A defamation claim was made for compensatory and aggravated damages. The plaintiff also sought for the defendant to be permanently restrained from publishing the posts. Decision: Judgment was entered in favour of the plaintiff in the sum of $182,700 inclusive of interest. This included compensatory damages of $160,000 and aggravated damages of $20,000. Injunctions were also ordered.

Have you been defamed ?

Defamation law is designed to protect all Australians from false or damaging statements being made about them that may cause harm to their personal or professional reputation. It enables those who have been defamed to seek compensation for financial and other losses resulting from a defamatory publication of any kind. If damaging comments have been made about you either online or in the media, you need to act fast.

Dont risk reputational damage, you need to act fast. call us for a free first consultation.

Interesting Facts: According to CMT Trends in Digital Defamation, of the 189 Australian defamation cases over the period 2013-17, 97 (51.3%) were digital cases. Over the five years, there were 16 cases regarding Facebook posts, 20 regarding emails and 37 regarding websites not affiliated with media organisations, Facebook or Twitter. Over the five years, there were 4 cases that involved tweets and 2 that involved text messages. That said, there is still a solid number of cases (92 or 48.7%) that were not digital cases. These non-digital cases include alleged defamatory imputations contained in book publications, community newsletters, oral statements made in conversation or in a court proceeding/court documents, traditional print media (magazines and newspapers), television and radio broadcasts. They also include statements made in written complaints/letters or in the minutes of meetings. Damages by year 2017 • 7 awards of damages were below $100,000 • 4 awards of damages were in the range $100,000 to $199,999 • 1 award of damages was in the range $200,000 to $299,999 • 2 awards of damages were of $300,000 or above (being the award of $1.85 million to Lloyd Rayney and the award of $4.57 million to Rebel Wilson) • 7 out of 14 of the awards of damages were $100,000 or above.
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