John Zunter v John Fairfax Publications Pty Limited

The case involved John Zunter suing John Fairfax Publications Pty Limited for defamation. Zunter sought damages for articles published in the Australian Financial Review, alleging he was involved in a fraud scheme. In response, the publisher cross-claimed for contribution from Zunter under section 5(1)(c) of the Law Reform (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 1946. The legal issues before the court were whether the cross-claim for contribution should be tried by a jury, if section 7A of the Defamation Act 1974 applied to the trial of the cross-claim, if the cross-claim for contribution was a common law claim within section 19(1) of the Supreme Court Act 1970, and if the cross-claim for contribution was a proceeding to which section 86 of the Supreme Court Act 1970 applied.

The court held that the cross-claim for contribution should be tried by a jury. It found that the cross-claim was not a common law claim, and therefore section 19(1) of the Supreme Court Act 1970 did not apply. The court also held that section 7A of the Defamation Act 1974 did not apply to the trial of the cross-claim. However, the court determined that the cross-claim for contribution was a proceeding to which section 86 of the Supreme Court Act 1970 applied, which meant that the cross-claim was not triable by a jury. Ultimately, the court found that the cross-claim for contribution should be tried by a judge alone.

The final orders of the court were that the cross-claim for contribution would be tried by a judge alone, and that the cross-claim was not a common law claim within section 19(1) of the Supreme Court Act 1970. The court also found that section 7A of the Defamation Act 1974 did not apply to the trial of the cross-claim, and that the cross-claim for contribution was a proceeding to which section 86 of the Supreme Court Act 1970 applied.