Curry v Walter
| Jurisdiction | England & Wales |
| Judgment Date | 01 January 1796 |
| Date | 01 January 1796 |
| Court | House of Lords |
English Reports Citation: 126 E.R. 1046
IN THE COURTS OF COMMON PLEAS AND EXCHEQUER CHAMBER AND IN THE HOUSE OF LORDS
S. C. 1 Esp. 457. Questiioned, R. v. Creevey, 1813, 1 M. & S. 279. Approved, Lewis v. Levy, 1858, El. Bl. & El. 557. Applied, Usill v. Hales, 1878, 3 C. P. D. 328; Kimber v. Press Association, (1893) 1 Q. B. 71.
curry v. walter. 1796. [S. C. 1 Esp. 457. Questioned, R. v. Creevey, 1813, 1 M. & S. 279. Approved, Lewis v. Levy, 1858, El. Bl. & El. 557. Applied, Usill v. Hales, 1878, 3 C. P. D. 328; Kinder v. Press Association, [1893] 1 Q. B. 71.] An action cannot be maintained for publishing a true account of the proceedings of a court of justice, however injurious such publication may be to the character of an individual (a)a. Queere, Whether the matter of justification ought not to be pleaded 1 This was an action for printing and publishing in the newspaper called The Times, under the title of " Law Reports," a libel on the Plaintiff. It imported to be an account of an application to the Court of King's Bench for an information against the Plaintiff and a Mr. Bingham, both justices of the peace for Hampshire, for refusing to licence an inn at Goaport. The ground of the application, as moved by Mr. Erskine, was that the magistrates had conspired with the landlord of the inn-[526] keeper to had a pretence for refusing him a licence, thereby to compel him to surrender a very beneficial lease to his landlord. The supposed libel, which was set out verbatim in the declaration, stated the circumstances of this charge very distinctly, and concluded by shewing that the rule was not granted, because there was no affidavit on the part of the prosecutor of the magistrate* having had due notice of the motion. The Defendant pleaded the general iasue, and at the trial, after the Plaintiff had proved the publication of tbe paper in question by him, produced as witness a person whom he employed to collect legal intelligence for the use of his paper, in order to prove that the report was a true and faithful account oi what passed in the Court of King's Bench upon the motion. It was objected on the other side, that this defence ought to have been put upon the record, and could not be given in evidence under the general issue. This objection, however was overruled by Eyre Ch. Just., who in summing up, told the Jury, that though the matter contained in the paper might be very injurious to the character of the magistrates, yet he was of opinion, that being a true account of what took place in a court of justice which is open to all the world, the publication of it was not Unlawful. The Jury found a verdict for the Defendant. A rule Nisi for setting aside this verdict having been obtained on a former day, upon two grounds, 1st, That the matter given in evidence did not amount to a defence; in law : and 2qly, That supposing it to ba a good defence it ought to have beeu pleaded in bar to the action, and not received in evidence...
To continue reading
Request your trial
-
R v Horsham Justices, ex parte Farquharson
...been laid down in several cases. Thus in Lewis v. Levy EB&E 537, Lord Campbell, C.J. in delivering the judgment of the court said: 'In Curry v. Walter 1 Bos&P 525 it was decided, about sixty years ago, that an action cannot be maintained for publishing a true account of the proceedings in ......
-
Bashford v Information Australia (Newsletters) Pty Ltd
...CLR 637; Radio 2UE Sydney Pty Ltd v Parker (1992) 29 NSWLR 448; Stephens v West Australian Newspapers Ltd (1994) 182 CLR 211 at 261. 39 Curry v Walter (1796) 1 B & P 525 [ 126 ER 1046]; R v Wright (1799) 8 TR 293 [101 ER 1396]. 40 Bellino v Australian Broadcasting Corporation (1996) 185 C......
-
Andrew Duncan v Henry Thwaites and Others
...the action with respect to the defendant being, whether he spoke the words falsely and maliciously." But Curry v. Walter (1 Esp. 456. 1 Bos. & Pul. 525), is an authority expressly in point, for the libel contained an account of an application to the Court of King's Bench for a criminal info......
-
Flint, Gent., one, Company against Pike, &
...would have done if the plea had been that the matters contained in the libel were true. Then, as to the other point, Curry v. Walter (1 Bos. & Pul. 525), is an authority to shew, that an action cannot be maintained for publishing a true account of the speech made by a counsel, in applying f......
-
Lange and Reynolds qualified privilege: Australian and English defamation law and practice.
...1; Defamation Act 1974 (NSW) ss 24, 25, sch 2. (30) See, eg, Wason v Walter (1868) LR 4 QB 73; Curry v Walter (1796) 1 Bos & P 525; 126 ER 1046. For a re-examination of the history of qualified privilege and widespread publications, see Chris Dent, '"The Privileged Few" and Public Disco......