The claimant alleged defamation by the defendant, his then opponent’s solicitor. He now appealed summary judgment against him.
Held: A solicitor properly appointed by his client to represent his client in legal proceedings and responding to attacks at the door of the court was protected by qualified legal privilege. His agency authority could now naturally be considered to extend to such activities. The privilege was not a blanket permission to libel, but rather the ability of an agent to borrow the authority as agent for his client and to operate within the range of privilege afforded to that client.
Judges:
Henry, Chadwick, May LJJ
Citations:
Times 15-Mar-2000, [2000] EWCA Civ 68, [2000] EMLR 549
Links:
Jurisdiction:
England and Wales
Cited by:
Cited – Khader v Aziz and Another QBD 31-Jul-2009
The defendant sought to strike out a claim in defamation. Acting on behalf of his client the solicitor defendant was said to have called a journalist and defamed the claimant. The words were denied.
Held: Assuming (which was denied) that the . .
Cited – Khader v Aziz and Others CA 23-Jun-2010
The claimant brought defamation proceedings after she had found and returned a valuable necklace belonging to the first respondent. The claim had been dismissed as an abuse of process.
Held: The claimant’s appeal failed: ‘there is such a . .
Cited – Economou v De Freitas QBD 27-Jul-2016
Failed action for defamation on rape allegations
The claimant had been accused by the defendant’s daughter of rape. He was never charged but sought to prosecute her alleging intent to pervert the course of justice. She later killed herself. The defendant sought to have the inquest extended to . .
Lists of cited by and citing cases may be incomplete.
Defamation, Legal Professions
Updated: 31 May 2022; Ref: scu.147101
