Australian Broadcasting Corporation v McBride

The Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) appealed to the Court of Appeal of New South Wales against a decision of the trial judge who had struck out particulars filed by the ABC in support of its plea of mitigation of damages in defamation proceedings brought by Mr. McBride.

The central legal issues before the Court of Appeal were whether the ABC could rely on the particulars to mitigate damages despite not having pleaded a defence of justification, whether those particulars related to a relevant sector of Mr. McBride's reputation, and whether the *Evidence Act 1995* (NSW) affected the application of the "relevant sector rule". The Court also considered whether the ABC could rely on particulars relating to matters that arose after the date of publication.

The Court of Appeal held that the "relevant sector rule" was not abrogated by the *Evidence Act 1995* (NSW) and that the particulars sought to rely on matters that did not relate to the specific sector of Mr. McBride's reputation that had been impugned by the defamatory material. Furthermore, the Court found that the particulars relating to events after the date of publication were not relevant to the mitigation of damages. Consequently, the Court dismissed the ABC's appeal. The Court also refused the ABC's application to amend its Notice of Appeal.