King & Anor v Greenwood

The plaintiffs, King and another, are publishers of local newspapers. The defendant, Greenwood, was a former graphic designer for the plaintiffs. The dispute arose when the defendant posted defamatory content on Facebook and sent an email to a former employee of the plaintiffs. The plaintiffs sought damages for defamation and a permanent injunction against the defendant. The matter was heard in the Supreme Court of New South Wales. The central legal issues were whether the plaintiffs were identified in the defendant's communications, whether the communications conveyed defamatory imputations, and whether the statutory defence of triviality applied under the Defamation Act 2005 (NSW). The court found that the plaintiffs were identified in the defendant's communications, and the imputations conveyed were defamatory. The court considered the statutory defence of triviality, ultimately determining that the defence did not apply. The court granted the plaintiffs' claims for damages and a permanent injunction. The significance of the defendant's undertaking, which was not to repeat the defamatory statements, was also taken into account in the court's decision.