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Awa v Independent News Auckland Ltd

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Awa v Independent News Auckland Ltd
CourtCourt of Appeal of New Zealand
Full case name Awa v Independent News Auckland Ltd
Decided31 July 1997
Citation[1997] 3 NZLR 590
Court membership
Judges sittingRichardson 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

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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

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The Court held it was fair comment.

References

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  1. ^ McLay, Geoff (2003). Butterworths Student Companion Torts (4th ed.). LexisNexis. ISBN 0-408-71686-X.