Rogers v Nationwide News Pty Ltd

The High Court of Australia considered an appeal by Dr. Rogers against Nationwide News Pty Ltd concerning a defamation action. The dispute arose from a newspaper article published by Nationwide News which was conceded to be defamatory of Dr. Rogers, conveying the imputation that he had negligently blinded a patient, Maree Lynette Whitaker. Dr. Rogers had initially succeeded at trial, but the majority of the New South Wales Court of Appeal overturned this decision, finding that a defence of fair protected report should have succeeded.

The primary legal issues before the High Court were whether Nationwide News could rely on defences relating to fair protected reports of court proceedings, and if not, whether the damages awarded at trial were excessive. The article in question was published the day after a judgment was delivered in Federal Court proceedings between Mrs. Whitaker and the Commissioner of Taxation concerning the taxability of her personal injury compensation. The article also referred to earlier Supreme Court proceedings where Dr. Rogers was found liable for failing to warn Mrs. Whitaker of a material risk associated with an eye operation, which resulted in her becoming almost totally blind in both eyes, despite the operation itself being conducted with skill and care.

The High Court allowed the appeal, finding that the Court of Appeal had erred in its assessment of the fair report defence. The Court held that the newspaper article was not a later publication of a fair extract, abstract, or summary of a protected report, and that the defence under section 24 of the Defamation Act 1974 (NSW) was not applicable. Furthermore, the Court agreed with the reasoning of the trial judge regarding damages, finding that the award of $250,000 was not manifestly excessive and that the trial judge's reasoning was careful and orthodox.

Consequently, the High Court set aside the orders of the Court of Appeal and reinstated the judgment of the trial judge, ordering that the appeal to the Court of Appeal be dismissed with costs.