Szymczak v Balijepalli (No 2)

In the Federal Court of Australia, Szymczak, the plaintiff, sought damages against Balijepalli, the defendant, for defamation. The plaintiff claimed that the defendant had made defamatory statements against him in a Facebook post, leading to non-economic loss and emotional distress. Balijepalli did not file a defence or appear at the hearing, nor did he comply with a court order to attend, resulting in a default judgment for the plaintiff. The court was required to decide whether the alleged defamatory statements were capable of being conveyed by the Facebook post and to assess the appropriate amount of damages for the harm caused to the plaintiff.

The court found that the Facebook post was capable of conveying the defamatory imputations and that the plaintiff had suffered non-economic loss and emotional distress as a result. The court also noted that the defendant had failed to provide any evidence or argument in his defence, and his absence from the hearing further supported the plaintiff's claims. In assessing the damages, the court considered the appropriate and rational relationship between the harm sustained by the plaintiff and the amount of damages. The court awarded the plaintiff general compensatory damages for non-economic loss and aggravated damages for the intentional and egregious nature of the defamation.

The court ordered that judgment be entered in favour of the plaintiff for $72,347.40, including costs. The court also granted the plaintiff leave to issue a warrant for the arrest of the defendant in accordance with the Federal Court Rules 2011. The respondent was ordered to pay the plaintiff's costs of the proceeding on an indemnity basis. The court further ordered that the proceeding may be restored to the list on application by either party immediately upon execution of the warrant for the arrest of the defendant.