Read v Gitman

Read sued Gitman, the strata manager of an apartment block, over three publications made by Gitman regarding Read's conduct of strata matters. Read was the chair, secretary, and treasurer of the owners committee. Gitman's publications were to the owners, a tenant, and the unit managers. Read claimed defamation, while Gitman argued that the communications were privileged or justified. The court had to determine if Gitman's communications were defamatory, privileged, or justified. If they were defamatory and not privileged or justified, the court had to determine damages.

The court found that Gitman's communications were defamatory. They also found that Gitman did not have a qualified privilege. Gitman argued that the communications were privileged because they were made to persons with a legitimate interest in the matter, but the court found that Gitman's malice and the lack of necessity for the communications to be made to those persons undermined this defence. Gitman also argued that one of the imputations was justified, but the court found that there was no evidence to support this claim. The court awarded Read damages of $35,000 for the first, second, and third matters complained of. Costs were reserved, and Gitman was given liberty to apply for costs and interest. The exhibits were retained until further order.