Cases

Ferguson v Associated Newspapers Limited

Comment

Gray J had misgivings about the propriety of a judge rather than a jury deciding what the words meant, even though that had been done by Sir Oliver Popplewell in Milne v Telegraph Group [2001] EMLR 760, and by Gray J himself in Gillick v Brook Advisory Centres (12 Mar 2002), on summary disposal applications. Sir Alex's advisers may not have harboured such doubts; Sir Alex accepted the court could decide meaning. The second point of interest is the level of damages. These were larger than they would have been, said the judge, because it was inappropriate to order an apology. Still, they were modest. In a case where he considered the libel "not a grave one" the judge found the comparison with personal injury damages for serious fractures of the nose (£5,252) a "telling" one. This will have been a disappointing result for Sir Alex, as the decision carried with it the costs of the summary disposal hearing.

Areas of work

Defamation
Media Law
Publishing
Sports Law

Also