The claimants in a defamation case made an interlocutory appeal against an order for trial by judge alone. The parties had agreed for trial by jury, but the defendants made a late application for trial by judge alone. Held: The claimant’s appeal failed. The right to a trial by jury is a constitutional right subject … Continue reading Fiddes v Channel Four Television Corporation and Others: CA 29 Jun 2010

May LJ noted: ‘an action which does not come within section 69(1) has to be tried without a jury, unless the court in its discretion orders it to be tried with a jury. The discretion is now very rarely exercised, reflecting contemporary practice. Contemporary practice has an eye, among other things, to proportionality; the greater … Continue reading Times Newspapers Ltd and others v Armstrong: CA 13 Jun 2006

The claimant, an MP, complained in defamation of the defendant’s description of his rejected expenses claim regarding an assistant’s charitable donation. The paper pleaded a Reynolds defence. The claimant said that when published the defendant knew that the article was untrue. The defendant sought summary judgment. Held: It was not possible to say there was … Continue reading Cook v Telegraph Media Group Ltd: QBD 29 Mar 2011