Wraydeh v Fairfax Media Publications Pty Ltd

The appeal concerned a defamation action brought by the appellant, Mr. Wraydeh, against the respondent, Fairfax Media Publications Pty Ltd. Mr. Wraydeh alleged that articles published by Fairfax defamed him. The primary judge had found in favour of Fairfax, and Mr. Wraydeh appealed this decision.

The central legal issues before the Court of Appeal were whether the primary judge erred in finding that the publications were protected by common law qualified privilege, and whether the assessment of compensatory damages was manifestly inadequate. Specifically, the court had to consider whether the information published by Fairfax was relevant to the privileged occasion, and whether the primary judge’s assessment of damages was justified, particularly in light of adverse credibility findings and the appellant's failure to correct the record.

The Court of Appeal affirmed the primary judge's findings. It held that the publications, which were based on police media releases, were relevant to the occasion of privilege. The court clarified that the test for relevance in such circumstances does not require the additional information to be strictly necessary, but rather that it not be foreign to the occasion of privilege. Furthermore, the court found that the primary judge was justified in considering Mr. Wraydeh’s failure to correct the record as an indication that he had not suffered the hurt and distress he claimed, and that the damages awarded were not manifestly inadequate.

Consequently, the Court of Appeal dismissed each appeal with costs.