Defamation Trials, Summary Determinations and Assessments 2010 [updated]

Libel defendants had a good year in 2010.  There were 21 defamation hearings before High Court Judges which resulted in the final disposal of libel actions.  The defendants were successful in 17 of these cases, that is 81% of the total.   In three of the four cases in which the claimant was successful – Bryce, Ernst & Young and Metropolitan Schools –  the defendant did not appear.  In the fourth (Berezovsky) the media defendant did not appear and the individual defendant was in person.  In other words, the mainstream media did not fight and lose a single libel case in 2010 – it should however, be noted that there were a number of “late settlements” in media cases, with statements in open court being made shortly before the trial was due to commence.

There are two other striking features of the list of “final determinations” for 2010.  First, of the 18 cases listed, only 8 involved the mainstream UK media.  The media defendants were completely successful in 7 of these cases.  In the eighth (Bowman) the media defendant, MGN, was, for all practical purposes, the winner – the claimant having failed to match an earlier offer and, as a result, being liable for the costs of the hearing.

Second, there were only three completed libel trials which resulted in judgments in 2010.  A fourth – Cambridge v Makin – took place in 2010 but judgment has not yet been handed down.   All of these trials were by judge alone.  There were no libel jury trials at all in 2010.  We believe that this is the first time that a libel jury trial has not taken place in a calendar year.

The purpose of this post is to record the “final determinations” of libel cases by the High Court in 2010.  This can only be a partial picture as it does not include settlements or withdrawals.  It does not, therefore, include cases such as BCA v Singh (discontinuance after adverse Court of Appeal ruling) or Fiddes v Channel Four (“drop hands” deal on the first day of trial).

The post is intended as a follow up to the one we published in March 2010 which set out to provide a list of all the “Defamation Trials, Summary Determinations and Assessments 2005-2009” (and our post on the first 6 months of 2010). Like those posts, this one includes all the substantive defamation hearings before High Court Judges, including trials, “offer of amends assessments”, summary disposals and determinative preliminary issues which we are aware of during this period. We believe that this list is complete but if there are other cases which we have missed then perhaps readers could provide details.

The list is extracted from our “Table of Cases 2010-2011 ” and includes links to the judgments (where available) and, where applicable, the Inforrm blog posts and comments on them as well the useful case notes and comments provided on the websites of barristers’ chambers 1 Brick Court  (“1BC”) and 5 Raymond Buildings (“5RB”).