Zimmerman v Perkiss

Zimmerman v Perkiss is a defamation case brought by the plaintiff against the defendant, who is the mother of the plaintiff's former employer. The plaintiff alleged that the defendant defamed her by sending a message via Facebook Messenger to the plaintiff's current employer. The dispute was heard and determined in the Supreme Court of New South Wales.

The court was required to determine whether the plaintiff had established "serious harm" as required by section 10A of the Defamation Act 2005 (NSW). The plaintiff claimed that the publication caused or was likely to cause serious harm to her reputation, which would entitle her to damages. The defendant argued that the plaintiff had not proven that the publication caused or was likely to cause such harm.

The court held that the plaintiff had failed to prove that the publication caused or was likely to cause harm to her reputation. The court found that the plaintiff's evidence did not demonstrate that the publication had caused or was likely to cause serious harm to her reputation, and therefore the claim was dismissed. The court also noted that the plaintiff's employment status did not support the claim of serious harm. The court reserved costs and allowed the parties liberty to apply. The exhibits were retained until further order.