Hyndes v Nationwide News Pty Ltd

The appeal concerned a defamation action brought by Dr Hyndes against Nationwide News Pty Ltd. Following a jury verdict in favour of Nationwide News, Dr Hyndes appealed to the Court of Appeal of New South Wales. Nationwide News also sought indemnity costs.

The primary legal issue before the Court of Appeal was whether the jury's verdict, which found the imputations pleaded by Dr Hyndes to be substantially true, was unreasonable or not open on the evidence presented at trial. A secondary issue related to Nationwide News' application for indemnity costs, specifically whether Dr Hyndes' failure to accept a reasonable settlement offer was unreasonable, and how this interacted with the relevant Uniform Civil Procedure Rules and legislation.

The Court of Appeal dismissed Dr Hyndes' appeal, finding that the jury's verdict was open on the evidence. The Court applied principles concerning the assessment of evidence in defamation cases and the deference owed to jury findings, referencing the High Court's decision in *Hocking v Bell*. Regarding the costs application, the Court considered the reasonableness of the settlement offer and the conduct of the parties in light of the *Defamation Act 2005* (NSW) and the *Civil Procedure Act 2005* (NSW).

Consequently, the appeal was dismissed, and Dr Hyndes was ordered to pay Nationwide News' costs of the appeal. Nationwide News' separate application for leave to appeal was refused, with Dr Hyndes ordered to pay the costs of that application.