Cases

Crossley & Crossley v Newsquest (Midlands South) Limited

Facts

The Claimants (Cs) had been involved in a long-running dispute with their neighbours, the Ws, over disposal of sewage. The dispute had been adjudicated on in the county court in Ws favour and Cs had been ordered to pay costs. A month after the conclusion of the county court trial, Cs unsuccessfully applied to vary the costs order. The local newspaper reported the application and the underlying country court proceedings, and included comments from Ws in the article.

Cs sued the newspaper (D) and, in a separate claim, Ws, for defamation. D applied for strike out/summary judgment on various bases. Cs sought to amend their claim to add a claim for invasion of privacy, based on the publication in the article of details of their financial affairs that had been referred to in open court. The Master struck out the claim/gave summary judgment against Cs on a number of bases including holding that the claim was an abuse of process and refused leave to amend. Cs appealed to the Judge.

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