The court is entitled to take account of the nature of the hypothetical reasonable reader, in this case the ‘educated readership’ of the Guardian Weekend section, when deciding the impied meanings in a statement said to be defamatory. Tugendhat J warned of the Scylla and Charybdis between which the judge must steer a course: setting too low a meaning may deprive the claimant of his right to vindication before a court, and setting it too high may wrongly burden the defendant with libel proceedings which cannot be defended.
Judges:
Tugendhat J
Citations:
[2008] EWHC 3066 (QB)
Links:
Jurisdiction:
England and Wales
Cited by:
Cited – Thornton v Telegraph Media Group Ltd QBD 16-Jun-2010
The claimant said that a review of her book was defamatory and a malicious falsehood. The defendant now sought summary judgment or a ruling as to the meaning of the words complained of.
Held: The application for summary judgment succeeded. The . .
Cited – Hamaizia and Another v The Commissioner of Police for The Metropolis QBD 21-Oct-2014
The two claimants, each convicted of serious offences of false imprisonment and violent assault, complained of a press release issued by the defendant which, they said accused them of involvement in a murder.
Held: The words complained of did . .
Lists of cited by and citing cases may be incomplete.
Defamation
Updated: 21 July 2022; Ref: scu.278795