Lange v. Atkinson
New Zealand Court of Appeal
3 NZLR 424, 460 (1998)
- Written by Kelly Simon, JD
Facts
David Lange (plaintiff) served as the prime minister of New Zealand and later became a member of parliament in New Zealand. Lange was a leader of the Labor Party. Joe Atkinson (defendant) wrote an article critical of Lange in an Australian Consolidated Press (Australian Consolidated) publication. An unflattering political cartoon depicting Lange at breakfast being served a packet titled “Selective Memory Regression for Advanced Practitioners” accompanied the article. Lange sued Atkinson and Australian Consolidated for defamation, arguing the materials written by Lange and published by Australian Consolidated were untrue and seeking damages. Atkinson asserted various defenses to Lange’s defamation suit, including relying on Atkinson’s constitutional right to a qualified privilege. The trial court dismissed the defamation case. Lange appealed, arguing that for Atkinson to believe the material he wrote was unreasonable, and, therefore, qualified privilege must not be available as a defense.
Rule of Law
Issue
Holding and Reasoning (Brennan, J.)
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