Cases

Basham v Gregory

Comment

This case represented the high watermark for defendants in relation to late amendments to pleas of justification. It effectively provided a defendant, no matter how dilatory (provided there was no 'overreaching'), with an opportunity to introduce extensive additional material by way of justification very late in the day, even if it caused the adjournment of the trial. Post the CPR, it is unlikely that a court would be quite so generous to a defendant in these circumstances, even though the factors of false vindication and restriction on freedom of speech would still be powerful considerations to weigh up in deciding the best way to further the overriding objective.

Areas of work

Defamation
Media Law
Publishing

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