Crisp v Fairfax Media Ltd

In the matter of Crisp v Fairfax Media Ltd, the plaintiff sought an interlocutory injunction to prevent the defendant, Fairfax Media Ltd, from publishing defamatory allegations contained in a statement of claim that was leaked to The Age newspaper prior to service. The dispute arose from statements made in the leaked document, which the plaintiff argued were defamatory and had already been published. The case was heard in the Supreme Court of Victoria.

The court was required to determine whether an interlocutory injunction should be granted to restrain the publication of the leaked allegations and whether an application for discovery to identify the defendant should proceed. The plaintiff contended that the leak was a breach of the court's confidentiality requirements and sought an order preventing further publication. Additionally, the plaintiff sought discovery to identify the putative defendant who allegedly leaked the statement of claim to The Age newspaper.

The court found that the leaked statement of claim had already been made public, and its contents were widely available on the County Court file. The court held that there was no basis for granting an interlocutory injunction under the Defamation Act 2005 as the damage had already been done. Furthermore, the court refused the application for discovery, finding that it was not necessary to identify the putative defendant in the circumstances. The court concluded that the plaintiff's application was without merit and was refused.