Emerson v Walker

In Emerson v Walker & Ors, the plaintiff, Ross Emerson, sought damages for defamation against the Chief Executive Officer of the Ministry of Fair Trading, Patrick Walker, the Chairman of the Australian Cricket Board, Denis Rogers, the Australian Broadcasting Corporation, and West Australian Newspapers Ltd. Emerson alleged that he was defamed by various publications that suggested he was a malingerer and had been deceitful in continuing to umpire international cricket matches while on stress leave. The defendants each applied to strike out various paragraphs of Emerson's statement of claim.

The court found that certain imputations pleaded in Emerson's statement of claim were incapable of arising from the defendants' publications. For instance, the court struck out imputations that Emerson was a malingerer and had acted deceitfully, as these imputations were not supported by the defendants' words. The court also struck out paragraphs that dealt with aggravated and exemplary damages, finding that they were either irrelevant or unclear. The court allowed Emerson liberty to amend his statement of claim to correct any deficiencies identified in the judgment.