Conlon v Times Newspapers Ltd

JurisdictionIreland
Judgment Date01 January 1995
Date01 January 1995
CourtHigh Court
(H.C.)
Conlon
and
Times Newspapers Ltd

- Striking out - Motion to strike out proceedings for failure to show reasonable cause of action or for being unsustainable and bound to fail - Questions to be decided at preliminary stage not whether words are "capable" of being defamatory but whether it is "arguable" that they are capable of such a meaning.

The plaintiff instituted proceedings against the defendant seeking damages for an alleged defamation. The alleged defamation was contained in an article written by a film critic as an agent of the defendant. The defendant issued a motion seeking an order striking out the plaintiff's claim on the grounds that it disclosed no reasonable cause of action, or alternatively, that it was clearly unsustainable and bound to fail. Held by Murphy J. in refusing to grant the relief sought: (1) It was necessary to recognise in principle the significant distinction between an application to a trial judge to withdraw a case from a jury during the trial of the action and an application to have that action struck out before it even reaches the trial stage. (2) The court has the power and inherent jurisdiction to strike out a case at a preliminary stage. D.K. v. A.K.DLRM [1993] ILRM 710 and Drummond-Jackson v. British Medical Association [1970] 1W.L.R. 688 considered. (3) In an application to strike out proceedings at a preliminary stage it is necessary to show that the action is clearly unsustainable. Here the question to be determined was not the 'capability' of the words to bear a particular meaning, but the 'arguability' as to whether the words were capable of such a meaning. Whether the words are capable of bearing a...

To continue reading

Request your trial
5 cases
  • Liam Grant v Roche Products (Ireland) Ltd and Others
    • Ireland
    • Supreme Court
    • 7 May 2008
    ...ART 2 BARRY v BUCKLEY 1981 IR 306 SUN FAT CHAN v OSSEOUS LTD 1992 1 IR 425 K (D) v KING 1994 1 IR 166 CONLON v TIMES NEWSPAPERS LTD 1995 2 ILRM 76 JODIFERN LTD v FITZGERALD 2000 3 IR 321 1999/14/4003 GOLDSMITH v SPERRINGS LTD & ORS 1977 1 WLR 478 VARAWA v HOWARD SMITH CO LTD 1911 13 CL......
  • Grant v Roche Products (Ireland) Ltd & Others
    • Ireland
    • Supreme Court
    • 7 May 2008
    ...... a limited company having its registered office in Clonskeagh, Dublin, and was at all material times engaged in the promotion and distribution of a drug known as Roaccutane on its own behalf and on ...To the same effect is the judgment of Murphy J. in Conlon v. Times Newspapers Ltd . [1995] 2 I.L.R.M. 76 . There, the . . 112 learned judge ......
  • Magee v MGN Ltd
    • Ireland
    • High Court
    • 14 November 2003
    ...have been applied. I have already mentioned 50 D.K supra 51. In 1995 Murphy J. delivered judgment in Conlon v. Times Newspapers Ltd. [1995] 2 I.L.R.M. 76, wherein one of the major, if not the only issue on liability, was whether the article, admittedly written of and concerning the plaintif......
  • McGarth v Independent Newspapers (Ireland) Ltd
    • Ireland
    • High Court
    • 21 April 2004
    ...Charleston v. Newsgroup Newspapers Ltd. [1995] 2 A.C. 65; [1995] 2 W.L.R. 450; [1995] 2 All E.R. 313. Conlon v. Times Newspaper Ltd. [1995] 2 I.L.R.M. 76. Preliminary issue The facts of the case have been summarised in the headnote and are more fully set out in the judgment of Gilligan J., ......
  • Request a trial to view additional results

VLEX uses login cookies to provide you with a better browsing experience. If you click on 'Accept' or continue browsing this site we consider that you accept our cookie policy. ACCEPT