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TUT. 3 Defamation

The document discusses three cases involving potential defamation claims: 1. Minister Hilly Billy wishes to sue an opposition MP and newspaper for reporting that he accepted bribes for awarding a contract. To succeed, Hilly Billy must prove the statements were false, lowered his reputation, and were published. 2. Mr. Goodieman wants to sue a newspaper for implying he was not devoted to his religion by placing him near a nightclub. For libel, he must show a false published statement that lowers his reputation. The newspaper has defenses of truth and opinion. 3. Minister Mutt wants to sue a newspaper for implying he was involved in a past financial scam. To succeed,

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199 views2 pages

TUT. 3 Defamation

The document discusses three cases involving potential defamation claims: 1. Minister Hilly Billy wishes to sue an opposition MP and newspaper for reporting that he accepted bribes for awarding a contract. To succeed, Hilly Billy must prove the statements were false, lowered his reputation, and were published. 2. Mr. Goodieman wants to sue a newspaper for implying he was not devoted to his religion by placing him near a nightclub. For libel, he must show a false published statement that lowers his reputation. The newspaper has defenses of truth and opinion. 3. Minister Mutt wants to sue a newspaper for implying he was involved in a past financial scam. To succeed,

Uploaded by

Britney valladares
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as DOC, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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Tutorial: 3

Topic: Defamation

1. During the budget debate an opposition Member of Parliament in his speech said that it
had been brought to his attention that Mr Hilly Billy, Minister of the Environment, had
been paid thousands of dollars by the Neverduty Sanitation Company for awarding them
a million-dollar contract. Next day the headlines of the daily Maco newspaper were:
“Government Minister Caught in Corruption”.

Minister Hilly Billy wishes to sue the opposition Member of Parliament and the
newspaper for defamation.

(a) Explain the elements of the tort of defamation that Minister Hilly Billy must satisfy to
succeed against the opposition Member of Parliament and the newspaper. [13 marks]

(b) Outline TWO defences that could be raised by the newspaper and ONE defence that
the opposition Member of Parliament might have. [12 marks]

Total 25 marks

2. A newspaper in a Commonwealth Caribbean state publishes a picture of the car of Mr.


Goodieman, a prominent member of a religious organization, in front of a popular
downtown nightclub. The caption of the picture was “Near to church, far from God”. Mr.
Goodieman, in fact, went to the nightclub to speak to the owner about an urgent matter.
Mr. Goodieman wishes to sue the newspaper for the libel.

(a) Advise Mr. Goodieman as to whether a tort has been committed, outlining the
essential features of this tort. [13 marks]
(b) Explain TWO defenses available to the newspaper if Mr. Goodieman sues for libel.
[12 marks]
3. On the day before the country’s elections, the local newspaper publishes a feature article
with the heading ‘This Day in History: Youth Caught in Massive Financial Scam’. That
same afternoon, its editor repeats the story in a radio interview and says, “Who the cap
fits, let him wear it. We stand by our story”.

The story refers to an incident fifteen years ago in which Minister Mutt, representative
for the area, was alleged to have been involved. Minister Mutt is very upset and wants
to sue the newspaper for defamation.

(a) Explain the elements of the tort of defamation that Minister Mutt must satisfy in
order to succeed against the newspaper. [20 marks]
(b) Outline ONE defense that could be raised by the newspaper. [5 marks]
Total 25 marks

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