Fraser v Business News Group Pty Ltd

Fraser v Business News Group Pty Ltd was an application for assessment of damages in the County Court of Victoria. The plaintiff, Fraser, sought $230,000 in damages for non-economic loss, including aggravated damages, and indemnity costs against the defendant, Business News Group, for an article published on their website. Fraser alleged the article, which was headlined ‘Hotel Management CEO makes disastrous press blunder’, was defamatory. The defendant did not contest the defamation claims, and an interlocutory judgment was entered for the plaintiff to be paid damages to be assessed and costs fixed at $3,800. The court had to consider the appropriate assessment of damages in light of the defamatory imputations made out, the nature of the publication, the distress and indignity suffered by the plaintiff, and the factors relevant to the assessment of damages.

The court considered the factors relevant to the assessment of damages under the Defamation Act 2005 (Vic), including the breadth and nature of the publication, the industry audience, the ‘grapevine effect’, and the distress and indignity suffered by the plaintiff. The court referred to Carson v John Fairfax & Sons Ltd and Rogers v Nationwide News Pty Ltd, among other cases, to determine the appropriate assessment of damages. The court also considered countervailing factors, including the brief duration of the publication, the absence of a sustained or malicious campaign of harassment, and the absence of direct evidence of actual harm to the plaintiff’s reputation. The court referred to several other cases to consider these factors.

The court awarded the plaintiff $150,000 in damages, inclusive of aggravated damages. The court found that the matters relied upon by the plaintiff were relevant factors supporting an award of aggravated damages. However, the court did not award indemnity costs as the matters relied upon were relevant factors supporting an award of aggravated damages. The court noted that the plaintiff had suffered significant distress and indignity as a result of the defamatory publication.

The court ordered that the defendant pay the plaintiff $150,000 in damages, inclusive of aggravated damages, and costs of the application fixed at $3,800. The court did not award indemnity costs. The plaintiff was awarded the full amount of damages sought, but the court found that the matters relied upon were relevant factors supporting an award of aggravated damages. The defendant was ordered to pay the plaintiff’s costs of the application.