Sun Newspapers Pty Ltd v Brisbane TV Ltd

Re: SUN NEWSPAPERS PTY LTD
And: BRISBANE T.V. LIMITED; H.S.V. CHANNEL SEVEN PTY LTD and H.S.V. CHANNEL 7
No. Qld G356 of 1988
FED No. 805
Contempt

COURT

IN THE FEDERAL COURT OF AUSTRALIA

QUEENSLAND DISTRICT REGISTRY
GENERAL DIVISION
Pincus J.(1)

CATCHWORDS

Contempt - injunction - non party to original action - terms of injunction read over telephone - knowledge of order - whether person charged must be aware of full terms of order - standard of proof.

HEARING

BRISBANE

#DATE 20:12:1989

Counsel for the applicant: Mr P. Keane Q.C. & Mr

A.J.H. Morris

Solicitors for the applicant: Messrs McCullough & Robertson

Counsel for the respondents: Mr W.H. Nicholas Q.C. & Mr D.

Casperson

Solicitors for the respondents: Mallesons Stephen Jaques

ORDER

THE COURT:

1. FINDS that Derryn Nigel Hinch committed a contempt of this Court by uttering the words set out in para.1(a) of the statement of charge against him filed on 24 November 1988;

1. ORDERS that Derryn Nigel Hinch pay all the applicant's costs of and incidental to these contempt proceedings, to be taxed.

NOTE: Settlement and entry of orders is dealt with in Order 36 of the Federal Court Rules.

JUDGE1

The applicant brought proceedings in this Court on 2 November 1988 to restrain the publication of information, video-tapes and the like, provided under an agreement of 31 October 1988, relating to one James Finch; the proceedings were based on the law of copyright as well as that of contract. On 1 November 1988, an interim injunction was granted ex parte restraining the respondents from publishing such material.

1. Messrs Dermot O'Brien and Derryn Hinch are charged with having committed contempt relating to the order; they were not respondents to the principal proceedings but the applicant's case is that, knowing of its content, they acted in such a way as to frustrate its effect: Attorney-General v. Leveller Magazine Ltd (1979) AC 440. The expression "the respondents" in these reasons, without addition, will be used as a reference to O'Brien and Hinch. They were at relevant times respectively the producer and executive producer of a television show formerly called "Hinch at Seven", now called "Hinch". The complaint is that, knowing of the injunction, the respondents showed material which is fully set out below.

2. Although there was a considerable amount of evidence called, in the rather protracted hearing, the principal point at issue is whether it was proved against the respondents that they understood that the Court's order applied to publishing information on certain video-tapes, as well as the tapes themselves. As will appear, I am satisfied that the respondents became aware that the publication of information was covered by the order and reject the contention that they were given to understand, or understood, that the order related only to the use of the tapes themselves.

3. In 1973, there was a mass killing in Brisbane at a place of entertainment called the Whisky Au-Go-Go. Two people were convicted of murder, one being named James Richard Finch. The affair attracted enormous…