The Australian Medical Association (WA) Incorporated v McEvoy [No 2]

The Australian Medical Association (WA) Incorporated v McEvoy [No 2] was a defamation case heard by the Supreme Court of Western Australia. The plaintiff, the Australian Medical Association (WA) Incorporated, sought to recover damages from the defendant, Dr. McEvoy, for defamatory statements made about the plaintiff in a book published by the defendant. The case focused on whether certain parts of the plaintiff's statement of claim should be struck out and on the assessment of aggravated damages.

The legal issues before the court included whether the defendant's subsequent publication of similarly defamatory material could be considered in assessing aggravated damages and whether the plaintiff was entitled to claim for aggravated damages at all. The court was required to determine if the principles set out in Comalco Ltd v Australian Broadcasting Corporation applied to this case and, if so, how they should be applied.

In its reasoning, the court held that the principles in Comalco applied to the case. It concluded that the repetition of the defamatory material by the defendant was not relevant to the assessment of damages, as the evidence of such repetition was relevant only as showing express malice. Since the plaintiff was a corporation, the court held that express malice could not be a ground for aggravation of damages. The court further held that the plaintiff was not entitled to claim for aggravated damages as corporations were not considered to have feelings that could be injured in the same way as individuals. The court struck out certain parts of the plaintiff's statement of claim and dismissed the claim for aggravated damages.

The final orders of the court were that the plaintiff's claim for aggravated damages was dismissed and that certain parts of the plaintiff's statement of claim were struck out. The case highlights the principles governing the assessment of aggravated damages in defamation cases and the limited circumstances in which corporations may be able to claim for such damages.