Western Broadcasting Services v. Seaga (Jamaica )

Western Broadcasting Services v. Seaga (Jamaica ) [2007] UKPC 19 (29 March 2007)

Privy Council Appeal No 43 of 2005

Western Broadcasting Services Appellant

v.

Edward Seaga Respondent

FROM

THE COURT OF APPEAL OF

JAMAICA

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JUDGMENT OF THE LORDS OF THE JUDICIAL

COMMITTEE OF THE PRIVY COUNCIL

Delivered the 29th March 2007

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Present at the hearing:-

Lord Bingham of Cornhill

Lord Rodger of Earlsferry

Baroness Hale of Richmond

Lord Carswell

Lord Brown of Eaton-under-Heywood

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[Delivered by Lord Carswell]

The respondent Edward Seaga, a former Prime Minister of Jamaica and then Leader of the Opposition, commenced proceedings on 26 November 1999 against five defendants in respect of the content of a radio programme known as the Breakfast Club broadcast on 3, 6 and 14 September 1999. The first named defendant is the present appellant Western Broadcasting Services Ltd, a broadcasting company which transmitted the programme from its radio station Hot 102 FM. The second defendant is The Breakfast Club Ltd, which was sued as the company making the programme. The third named defendant Anthony Abrahams is sued as the host of the programme broadcast on the dates mentioned. The fourth defendant, an American journalist Laurie Gunst, is sued for publishing statements alleged to have been defamatory on the programme on 3 September 1999 and the fifth defendant Jeff Stein, also an American journalist, is sued for publishing defamatory statements on the programme on 6 September. It is also claimed in the statement of claim that the third defendant Mr Abrahams made further defamatory remarks of and concerning the respondent in a Breakfast Club programme on 14 September 1999. The writ of summons and statement of claim, both filed on 26 November 1999, claim damages against all five defendants.

The first, second and third defendants filed a defence on 10 January 2000 and the respondent filed a reply on 7 March 2000. The fourth and fifth defendants, who were not resident or present in Jamaica, were not served with the proceedings. On 18 June 2003 the Jamaican Supreme Court ordered that substituted service of a concurrent writ of summons could be effected upon those defendants by advertisement in the United States in the newspapers specified.

The respondent subsequently brought an application to the court to vary the terms of the order for substituted service by permitting service on named publishers, because of the considerable expense of advertising. The application was to be heard at a case management conference to be held on 22 September 2003, with an estimated length of hearing of 15 minutes.

At the hearing on 22 September, held before McIntosh J, the requested variation of the order for substituted service was made. The attorney acting for the respondent,…

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