THE HON. MRS JUSTICE TIPPLES
Approved judgment
Greenstein v Campaign Against Antisemitism
[2020] EWHC 2951 (QB)
be granted where there is no prospect that a claimant will succeed in proving
malice (see, for example, Carruthers at [32]).
b. The approach the court should adopt when considering applications for
summary judgment is set out in Easy Air Limited v Opal Telecom Ltd [2009]
EWHC 339 (Ch) (and approved by the Court of Appeal in AC Ward & Son v
Catlin (Five) Ltd [2009] EWCA Civ 1098 at [24]). Summary judgment is
for plain cases that are not fit for trial: Suresh v Samad [2017] EWHC 76
(QB), Warby J at [10(4)].
c. The court can exercise its powers to strike out a statement of case under CPR
3.4(2)(b) in respect of a defamation claim where the litigation is pointless
and wasteful or “[does] not serve the legitimate purpose of protecting the
claimant’s reputation” as such a claim is an abuse of process: see Jameel v
Dow Jones & Co Inc [2005] QB 946, CA; Lait v Evening Standard Ltd
[2011] 1 WLR 2973, CA at [42]; Gatley on Libel and Slander (12th Edition;
2013) (“Gatley”) at para 30.48 – Proceedings which are not “worth the
candle”; Jameel abuse of process).
Defence of honest opinion
15. The defence of honest opinion is now contained in section 3 of the 2013 Act, and the
old common law defence has been abolished: section 3(8). Section 3, so far as
material, provides:
“(1) It is a defence to an action for defamation for the defendant to show that
the following conditions are met.
(2)
The first condition is that the statement complained of was a
statement of opinion.
(3)
The second condition is that the statement complained of indicated,
whether in general or specific terms, the basis of opinion.
(4)
The third condition is that an honest person could have held the
opinion on the basis of – (a) any fact which existed at the time the statement
complained of was published; …
(5)
The defence is defeated if the claimant shows that the defendant did
not hold the opinion …”
16. It is only sub-sections 3(4)(a) and 3(5) that are relevant in relation to the defendant’s
application. This, again, was common ground between the parties. The first
condition was determined by Nicklin J (see paragraph 3 above) and the claimant
does not challenge that the second condition is met (see [2019] EWHC 281 (QB) at
[30] to [31], [39] and [41]).
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