Cases

Jones v Pollard

Facts

The defendant published in the Sunday Mirror articles alleging (a) that the Claimant acted as a pimp in Moscow, and (b) that he had thus exposed British businessmen to the risk of blackmail by Russian security forces. The Claimant sued for libel, and the Defendant pleaded justification. At the trial the judge ruled that there was no evidence to support justification of the second meaning. The jury awarded the claimant £115,000, including special damages of £15,000 for loss of earning capacity. The Defendants appealed against the award of general damages. Complaints of misdirection were withdrawn in the course of the appeal, which ultimately rested on the proposition that the award was manifestly excessive in the light of admissions which the Claimant had made, and incontrovertible evidence of association with prostitutes which any reasonable jury would have accepted.

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