The court set out to settle the precise defamatory meanings alleged. Trustees of an Education Centre had appointed a relative of three existing trustees to join them. The claimant chairman resigned, objecting to what he said was poor governence. The trustees issued the statement complained of in response.
Held: The claim was struck out. The words complained of could not be defamatory: ‘I cannot accept that any reasonable reader of the November statement, having received it as a member of the Palmers Green Mosque, would have thought the worse of Mr Auladin. I believe that the typical fair-minded reader would be likely to feel regret at his resignation. Such a person might agree or disagree with Mr Auladin’s view on the election of the additional Trustee but, either way, I do not see why his reputation, or the esteem in which he has hitherto been held, should have been diminished by the incident or by the statement itself.’
Judges:
Eady J
Citations:
[2013] EWHC 157 (QB)
Links:
Jurisdiction:
England and Wales
Citing:
Cited – Slim v Daily Telegraph Ltd CA 1968
Courts to Settle upon a single meaning if disputed
The ‘single meaning’ rule adopted in the law of defamation is in one sense highly artificial, given the range of meanings the impugned words sometimes bear. The law of defamation ‘has passed beyond redemption by the courts’. Where in a libel action . .
Cited – Skuse v Granada Television CA 30-Mar-1993
The claimant complained that the defendant had said in a television programme that he had failed to act properly when presenting his expert forensic evidence in court in the trial of the Birmingham Six.
Held: The court should give to the . .
Cited – Gillick v Brook Advisory Centres and Another CA 23-Jul-2001
The claimant appealed after closing her action for an alleged defamation by the respondents in a leaflet published by them. She challenged an interim decision by the judge as to the meaning of the words complained of.
Held: The leaflet made . .
Cited – Jeynes v News Magazines Ltd and Another CA 31-Jan-2008
Whether Statement defamatory at common law
The claimant appealed against a striking out of her claim for defamation on finding that the words did not have the defamatory meaning complained of, namely that she was transgendered or transsexual.
Held: The appeal failed.
Sir Anthony . .
Lists of cited by and citing cases may be incomplete.
Defamation
Updated: 14 August 2022; Ref: scu.470757
