Rob Anderson KC with Rachel De Luchi appeared for the appellant, instructed by Clutch Legal Pty Ltd.
This case concerned an appeal from the District Court of Queensland whereby the appellant commenced defamation proceedings against the respondents under s 10A of the Defamation Act 2005 (Qld). The issue on appeal was whether the primary judge erred in determining that the “serious harm element” under s 10A(1) was not established. The appellant argued that it was unreasonable for the primary judge to make this finding, and the parties jointly submitted that a determination of serious harm made under s 10A is an evaluative decision to which the correctness standard applies. Justice of Appeal Flanagan, with whom Justice of Appeal Brown and Justice Davis agreed, accepted the joint submissions and held that a finding that serious harm was not established may be arrived at by a process of evaluative reasoning, and this does not affect the application of the correctness standard. The primary judge’s finding was upheld and the appeal dismissed.
The judgment can be read by clicking here
