Awa v Independent News Auckland Ltd
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| Awa v Independent News Auckland Ltd | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Court | Court of Appeal of New Zealand |
| Full case name | Awa v Independent News Auckland Ltd |
| Decided | 31 July 1997 |
| Citation | [1997] 3 NZLR 590 |
| Court membership | |
| Judges sitting | Richardson P, Gault J, Thomas J, Keith J, Blanchard J |
| Keywords | |
| negligence | |
Awa v Independent News Auckland Ltd [1997] 3 NZLR 590 is a cited case in New Zealand regarding the defence of fair comment / honest opinion to a claim involving defamation [1]
Background
In the aftermath of the death of comedian Billy T. James, his uncle Awa took his body away from his Pakeha wife, in order to give him a customary Māori burial at his ancestral marae.
Auckland's Sunday News newspaper covered it with a quote referring to Awa as "Billy's 'body snatching' uncle".
Awa subsequently sued for defamation, which the newspaper claimed was "fair comment".
Held
The Court held it was fair comment.
References
- ^ McLay, Geoff (2003). Butterworths Student Companion Torts (4th ed.). LexisNexis. ISBN 0-408-71686-X.
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