Corby v Allen and Unwin Pty Limited

The Federal Court was presented with an application by Corby to strike out certain defamatory imputations contained in a publication by Allen and Unwin Pty Limited. The dispute centred on whether the statements made in the publication had the capacity to lower the plaintiff's reputation in the eyes of others. The plaintiff, Corby, sought to have the defamatory imputations removed from the publication on the basis that they were injurious to his reputation.

The court had to determine whether the imputations in question had the capacity to lower the plaintiff's reputation. This involved examining the nature of the statements, their context, and the potential impact on the plaintiff's reputation. The court considered whether the statements were such that they would cause ordinary members of the public to think less of the plaintiff or hold him in less esteem. The court also had to assess whether the publication's overall message and the surrounding circumstances supported the plaintiff's claim that the statements were defamatory.

In delivering its decision, the court found that the impugned statements did have the capacity to lower the plaintiff's reputation in the estimation of others. The court held that the statements were such that they would cause ordinary members of the public to think less of the plaintiff or hold him in less esteem. The court further found that the publication's overall message and the surrounding circumstances supported the plaintiff's claim that the statements were defamatory. Consequently, the court dismissed the defendant's application to strike out the impugned imputations.

The court ordered that the defendant, Allen and Unwin Pty Limited, pay the plaintiff's costs of the application. The court did not make any orders in relation to the substantive defamation claim.