Eshow v Zaia

[2020] NSWCA 10

Court of Appeal

Supreme Court

New South Wales

Medium Neutral Citation:	Eshow v Zaia [2020] NSWCA 10
Hearing dates:	10 February 2020
Date of orders:	17 February 2020
Decision date:	17 February 2020
Before:	Bell P at [1]; Macfarlan JA at [2]; White JA at [22]
Decision:	(1)   Refuse the appellant extensions of time to file Notices of Appeal challenging the judgments of McCallum J and Fagan J of 15 November 2017 and 19 June 2019 respectively. (2)   Dismiss the appellant’s Amended Notice of Appeal on the basis that it was filed out of time. (3)   Order the appellant to pay the respondent’s costs of the proceedings on appeal.
Catchwords:	APPEAL – extensions of time to file Notices of Appeal refused – no arguable basis for appeals from judgments awarding damages for defamation and finding contempt for breach of injunction against further publication – whether sealed copy of orders required to be served for purposes of contempt proceedings
Legislation Cited:	Australian Constitution Defamation Act 2005 (NSW) Evidence Act 1995 (NSW), ss 140, 141 Supreme Court Act 1970 (NSW) Uniform Civil Procedure Rules 2005 (NSW)
Cases Cited:	Amalgamated Television Services Pty Ltd v Marsden (2001) 122 A Crim R 166; [2001] NSWCA 32 Australian Securities and Investments Commission v Sigalla (No. 4) (2011) 80 NSWLR 113; [2011] NSWSC 62 Burns v Corbett (2018) 92 ALJR 423; [2018] HCA 15 Coulton v Holcombe (1986) 162 CLR 1; [1986] HCA 33 National Australia Bank (NAB) Ltd v Juric [2001] VSC 375 Witham v Holloway (1995) 183 CLR 525; [1995] HCA 3
Category:	Principal judgment
Parties:	Sargon Eshow (Appellant) Mar Meelis Zaia (Respondent)
Representation:	Counsel: Self-represented Appellant M Richardson / B Dean (Respondent)   Solicitors: Self-represented Appellant David Legal (Respondent)
File Number(s):	2018/352966
Decision under appeal	Court or tribunal: Supreme Court Jurisdiction: Common Law Citation: [2017] NSWSC 1540; [2019] NSWSC 740 Date of Decision: 15 November 2017; 19 June 2019 Before: McCallum J and Fagan J File Number(s): 2016/96912

Judgment

1. BELL P: I agree with both the reasons given and orders proposed by Macfarlan JA.

2. MACFARLAN JA: Mr Sargon Eshow (“the appellant”) seeks to appeal against judgments of 15 November 2017 of McCallum J ([2017] NSWSC 1540) and of 19 June 2019 of Fagan J ([2019] NSWSC 740). In the former judgment, McCallum J found that the present respondent was entitled to damages for defamation from the appellant in the sum of $150,000. The allegedly defamatory publications were nine Facebook posts made by the appellant concerning the respondent, six of which were found to be defamatory. The respondent is the Archbishop of the Assyrian Church of the East, of which Church the appellant is a former parishioner. McCallum J summarised the defamation she found as follows:

“101 The defamation is serious. The acts and conditions that have been attributed to the plaintiff in the publications on which he has succeeded are, broadly, that he has failed the Church, that he is a hypocrite, that he is…