Gardener v Nationwide News Pty Limited

In the Federal Court of Australia, the case of Gardener v Nationwide News Pty Limited addressed issues of defamation. The plaintiff, Mr. Gardener, brought a defamation claim against the defendant, Nationwide News Pty Limited, which publishes a national newspaper. The crux of the dispute was whether certain statements published by the defendant in their newspaper defamed the plaintiff. Following a trial, the jury found in favour of the plaintiff, awarding him damages. The defendant sought to overturn the verdict on the basis that it was perverse, arguing that the jury's decision was against the weight of the evidence.

The legal issues before the court involved the scope of judicial intervention in jury verdicts deemed perverse. Specifically, the court had to determine whether the defendant had the right to seek a new trial due to the perceived perverseness of the jury's decision. The court also needed to consider the standard of review applicable to such claims and whether the defendant could rely on the "perverse verdict" doctrine to challenge the jury's findings. Furthermore, the court had to address whether the trial judge had correctly applied the legal principles in assessing the defendant's application.

The court ruled that the doctrine of a perverse verdict is a narrow exception and should only be invoked when the jury's decision is palpably wrong or unjust because it cannot be supported by the evidence. The court found that the trial judge had correctly applied the legal principles in dismissing the defendant's application for a new trial. The jury's decision was not so lacking in evidentiary support as to warrant a new trial, and the defendant had not demonstrated that the verdict was palpably wrong. Consequently, the court upheld the original jury verdict and dismissed the defendant's application for a new trial.

The court did not grant a new trial and upheld the original jury verdict. The plaintiff's damages award remained in place, and the defendant's application for a new trial was dismissed.