Calabro v Zappia

In Calabro v Zappia, a group of six family members sought to bring defamation proceedings against the defendant, Mr. Zappia, over a statutory declaration he sent to parties involved in litigation with one of the plaintiffs. The plaintiffs' action was initiated beyond the statutory time limit for commencing defamation proceedings. They sought an extension of time to bring their action, arguing that it was not reasonable for them to have commenced proceedings within the prescribed time. Additionally, they sought to challenge the defendant's application to strike out their statement of claim on the grounds that the proceedings were an abuse of process.

The court considered whether the plaintiffs' delay in commencing proceedings was reasonable and whether the action constituted an abuse of process. The court found that the plaintiffs' delay was unreasonable and that the action was an abuse of process because it was based on a document that was obtained surreptitiously from a file left in the court foyer. The court held that the plaintiffs' actions amounted to an abuse of the court process and dismissed the application for an extension of time. The court also struck out the plaintiffs' statement of claim and dismissed the action.

The court ordered that the plaintiffs' application for an extension of time to commence proceedings out of time was dismissed. The court further ordered that the plaintiffs' statement of claim be struck out and dismissed. The plaintiffs were ordered to pay the defendant's costs of the proceedings, except for the costs incurred on 29 April 2010, for which no order for costs was made due to the defendant's counsel failing to attend court.