Cases

Turcu v News Group Newspapers Ltd

Held

(1) The claim was not an abuse of process. While relatively few readers may have identified the Claimant from the articles, that in itself was not a stumbling block for the Claimant. Despite the lack of evidence from the Claimant, it was unreal to suppose that the Claimant lacked any desire for vindication in light of the gravity of the allegations. However powerful the factors relied upon in mitigation of damages, and despite the real problems faced by media defendants in CFA funded cases, the claim should be allowed to proceed. (2) The plea of justification should not be struck out since the Claimant could not show that the Defendant would be unable to substantiate its pleaded case at trial. (3) The claim should be tried by judge alone. The main issue at trial would be whether or not the Claimant's covertly recorded conversations about kidnapping were mere 'idle pub banter' or not. This would require careful consideration of documents, particularly the covert recordings.

Also