DEFAMATION - appeal from judgment in respect of three publications found to be seriously defamatory - seven separate defamatory imputations - award of damages including interest totalling $2,872,753.10 - on appeal, apprehension of bias grounds wholly abandoned - whether the primary Judge erred in finding that two of the publications conveyed one of the pleaded imputations - whether the Judge erred in rejecting the appellants' defence of justification, on the basis of credibility findings - whether the primary Judge had disavowed reliance on witness demeanour in making the credibility findings - whether the Judge erred in finding that the evidence of the appellants' primary witness was unreliable -whether the Judge erred in finding that the evidence of the primary witness concerning the incidents alleged by the appellants was uncorroborated - whether the Judge erred in finding that a text sent by the respondent to the appellants' primary witness was not inappropriate - whether the Judge erred in refusing leave to the appellants late in the trial to amend their filed defence so as to raise new particulars of justification.
DAMAGES - assessment of damages for non-economic loss - aggravation of damage - Triggell v Pheeney - whether the pleading of a defence of truth was unjustified - whether publication of contents of defence in newspaper unjustified - matters published recklessly and in a sensationalised and extravagant manner where the appellants had not made adequate inquiries before publication of the matters and had not spoken to the complainant - defence alleging truth filed when the appellants had not still not spoken to the complainant - defence not capable of supporting imputations sought to be justified - no error by the Judge in finding that the conduct in pleading and then publishing allegations in the defence was unjustified.
DAMAGES - assessment of damages for non-economic loss - proper construction of s 35 of the Defamation Act -whether the decision of the Victorian Court of Appeal in Bauer Media Pty Ltd v Wilson (No 2) [2018] VSCA 159; 3 VR 111 is plainly wrong - argument raised for the first time on appeal - whether expedient in the interests of justice to entertain argument - Bauer Media not shown to be plainly wrong.
DAMAGES - assessment of damages for non-economic loss - whether the award of $850,000 for non-economic loss was manifestly excessive - imputations extremely serious - aggravation of harm by the appellants - respondent devastated and distressed - very high award of damages for non-economic loss warranted - little utility in comparing award with other cases - award of $850,000 not beyond what was appropriate.
EVIDENCE - whether opinion evidence of witnesses who knew the respondent was admissible - whether there were undisclosed facts supporting opinions - no error in overruling objection.
DAMAGES - assessment of damages for economic loss - whether respondent's incapacity to earn income was pleaded - held that incapacity of the respondent to earn was pleaded and maintained at trial.
EVIDENCE - principles in Jones v Dunkel - whether respondent gave evidence of the effect of the publications upon his capacity for work - whether any occasion to draw adverse inference - held that respondent gave evidence of the effect of the publications upon him - no occasion to draw adverse inference - reasons of Handley JA in Commercial Union Assurance Co of Australia Ltd v Ferrcom (1991) 22 NSWLR 389 explained.
DAMAGES - assessment of damages for future economic loss - choice of period over which future loss of earning capacity estimated - application of Malec v J C Hutton Pty Ltd [1990] HCA 20; 169 CLR 638 - no error by Judge in estimating future economic loss.
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