<Criminal Law Essays and Dissertations

Tort Law

Extract 1 : Liability of FFL in respect of broken leg at construction site
Extract 2 : Liability of FFL in respect of carousel injury and damage to property
Extract 3 : Liability of the Globe newspaper

Liability of the Globe newspaper

FFL and Shazia (S) may have a claim in the tort of defamation against the Globe newspaper. To succeed in a claim FFL or S must prove that the statements were defamatory, that they referred to FFL or S, that they were published to a third party, and overcome any defences the Globe might raise.

Were the statements defamatory?
Sim v Stretch established an objective test to ascertain this. The question is: "(does it) lower the Claimant in the estimation of right thinking members of society?". An alternative test developed in Youssoupoff was whether or not it causes the Claimant to be shunned or avoided. The judge decides if a statement is capable of being defamatory, a jury decides if it is in fact defamatory . The ordinary and natural meaning of the words should be applied unless an innuendo is present. On the facts, no innuendo is present in the statements referring to FFL or S which are capable of being defamatory.

Does the statement refer to the Claimant?
For both FFL and S, the statements do refer to the potential Claimants. In the case of the owner Timmy Saville, it is established that if a statement refers to two people incidentally of the same name, it can still be defamatory .
Is there publication?
Publication must involve communication of the statement to at least one other person than the person defamed. Clearly, a newspaper article satisfies this criterion. As regards the republication by Sam of the defamatory statement regarding S's alcohol consumption, whether or not the Globe can be liable for the loss of business caused to FFL depends on whether they expressly or impliedly caused the republication. Arguably, newspapers necessarily engender dissemination of their content.

Defences
The Globe's only defence is likely to be if an offer of amends were made, which is uncertain on the facts. Other defences, including consent, innocent publication, justification, fair comment or bad reputation are unlikely to apply on the facts.

Conclusion
On balance, the Globe is likely to be liable to compensate Timmy Saville, FFL and S for defamation. Appropriate remedies include injunction to prevent further publication and damages, the level of which is the jury's remit.

  1. Sim v Stretch [1936] 2 All ER 1237 at 1240
  2. Youssoupoff v Metro Goldwyn-Mayer Pictures Ltd (1934) 50 T.L.R. 581
  3. Capital and Counties Bank Ltd v Henty & Sons (1882) 7 App. Cas. 741
  4. Newstead v London Express [1940] 1 K.B. 377
  5. Excluding footnotes, titles and quotations

Bibliography

CASES:

Barnet v Chelsea & Kensington Hosp. MC [1969] 1 Q.B. 428; [1968] 2 W.L.R. 422
Glasgow Corporation v Muir [1943] A.C. 448
Haseldine v CA Daw & Son [1941] 2 K.B. 343
Newstead v London Express [1940] 1 K.B. 377
Ratcliff v McConnell [1999] 1 W.L.R. 670
Ratcliff v McConnell [1999] 1 W.L.R. 670
Sim v Stretch [1936] 2 All ER 1237 at 1240
Yachuk v Oliver Blais [1949] A.C. 386
Capital and Counties Bank Ltd v Henty & Sons (1882) 7 App. Cas. 741

UK LEGISLATION:

The Law Reform (Contributory Negligence) Act 1945
The Occupiers' Liability Act 1957
The Occupiers' Liability Act 1984

Extract 1 : Liability of FFL in respect of broken leg at construction site
Extract 2 : Liability of FFL in respect of carousel injury and damage to property
Extract 3 : Liability of the Globe newspaper

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