In a defamation action, it is open to the defendant to justify the imputation by establishing that there were reasonable grounds to suspect the plaintiff from an objective point of view.
Stuart-Smith LJ said: ‘But the jury are concerned with whether there are reasonable grounds to suspect the plaintiff from an objective point of view. When considering this issue, the other side of the picture is relevant. The defendant cannot fetter the scope of the plaintiff’s evidence in rebuttal of the charge’
Judges:
Stuart-Smith LJ
Citations:
[1996] EMLR 429
Jurisdiction:
England and Wales
Cited by:
Cited – Shah and Another v Standard Chartered Bank CA 2-Apr-1998
The plaintiffs appealed against refusal of orders striking out the defences of justification to their libel action.
Held: The words complained of bore an accusation of money laundering. A plea of justification based upon a reasonable belief in . .
Mentioned – King v Telegraph Group Ltd CA 18-May-2004
The defendant appealed against interim costs orders made in the claim against it for defamation.
Held: The general power of cost capping measures available to courts were available also in defamation proceedings. The claimant was being . .
Lists of cited by and citing cases may be incomplete.
Defamation
Updated: 22 September 2022; Ref: scu.198169