Joyce wins
The court judgement in the defamation case Steven Joyce brought against NBR seems to have three firsts to it.
- Matthew Hooton apologised for something
- A publisher defended a defamation claim even after the author retracted it and apologised
- NBR lost a defamation case
Matthew Hooton did the right thing by quickly settling, recognising his column went over the top. It is a mystery why NBR decided not to do the same, as they have now incurred legal fees of their own, but the legal costs for Joyce.
They are possibly fortunate that Steven Joyce didn’t seek damages, and only sought a declaration he had been defamed.