Hayson v John Fairfax Publications Pty Ltd

The applicants, Hayson and others, sought leave to appeal from a decision of a primary judge who had dismissed their application to strike out the defence of contextual truth pleaded by the respondent, John Fairfax Publications Pty Ltd, in defamation proceedings. The dispute concerned the publication of articles by John Fairfax Publications Pty Ltd which the applicants alleged were defamatory.

The central legal issue before the Court of Appeal was whether the primary judge erred in dismissing the application to strike out the defence of contextual truth. This required the Court to consider whether the defence, as pleaded, was so manifestly untenable or had no real prospect of success that it ought to be struck out. The Court also had to determine if the applicants had demonstrated sufficient doubt about the correctness of the primary judge's decision to warrant granting leave to appeal.

The Court of Appeal, comprising Hodgson JA, Santow JA, and Tobias JA, considered the principles governing applications to strike out pleadings and the defence of contextual truth. They found that the primary judge had correctly applied these principles and that the applicants had failed to demonstrate that the primary judge's decision was demonstrably wrong or that there was sufficient doubt about its correctness to justify granting leave to appeal.

Consequently, the application for leave to appeal was dismissed, and the applicants were ordered to pay the costs of the respondent.