Marsden v Amalgamated Television Services Pty Limited

[2000] NSWSC 630

NEW SOUTH WALES SUPREME COURT

CITATION:     Marsden v Amalgamated Television Services Pty Limited [2000]  NSWSC 630

CURRENT JURISDICTION:           Common Law

FILE NUMBER(S):   20223 of 1995; 20592 of 1996

HEARING DATE{S):           4 July 2000

JUDGMENT DATE:            04/07/2000

PARTIES:
JOHN MARSDEN
(Plaintiff)

v

AMALGAMATED TELEVISION SERVICES PTY LIMITED
(Defendant)

JUDGMENT OF:      Levine J     

LOWER COURT JURISDICTION: Not Applicable

LOWER COURT FILE NUMBER(S):       Not Applicable

LOWER COURT JUDICIAL OFFICER:     Not Applicable

COUNSEL:
M R Hall
(Plaintiff)

W H Nicholas Q.C.
R Stitt Q.C.
J S Wheelhouse
(Defendant)

SOLICITORS:
Phillips Fox
(Plaintiff)

Mallesons Stephen Jaques
(Defendant)

CATCHWORDS:
On admissibility of MFI 264 - provisional relevance - T7895

ACTS CITED:

DECISION:
See paragraph 6

JUDGMENT:

DLJT:  183
(Ex Tempore - Revised)
[2000] NSWSC 630

THE SUPREME COURT
OF NEW SOUTH WALES
COMMON LAW DIVISION
DEFAMATION LIST

No.  20223 of 1995
No.  20592 of 1996

JUSTICE DAVID LEVINE

TUESDAY 4 JULY 2000

JOHN MARSDEN
(Plaintiff)

v

AMALGAMATED TELEVISION SERVICES PTY LIMITED
ACN 000 145 246
(Defendant)

JUDGMENT (On admissibility of MFI 264 - provisional relevance - T7895)

1. HIS HONOUR:  MFI 264 is a document acknowledged by Mrs Kirk to be her document in the sense that it is a document prepared by her as Mr Marsden's programme.  It is a document that contains an entry for Wednesday 1 April 1998 relating to Silverwater Gaol.

2. The document, at present, is incapable by itself on any rational basis, of proving anything more than it was Mr Marsden's programme for that day to include a visit to Silverwater Gaol.  It is incapable of proving, one, that he went there and, two, that he went there to see and, there, in fact saw Mr Les Murphy.

3. Mrs Kirk has no independent recollection of any visit by Mr Marsden on 1 April 1998 to Mr Les Murphy at Silverwater Gaol.

4. What has already become exhibit 238, what I will call a Mrs Kirk telephone message entry, is one relating to a call from Mr Murphy from Silverwater requesting assistance from the plaintiff.

5. The document, MFI 264, I am informed by Mr Stitt, is likely to enjoy a relevant evidentiary status, as I understand it, upon further cross-examination and in the light of material to come.

6. On that basis, it will be provisionally admitted under s 57 of the Evidence Act and marked as exhibit 239.

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LAST UPDATED:    10/07/2000