The Rt. Hon. Lord Justice Warby has granted Laurence Fox permission to appeal to the Court of Appeal on 5 of the 7 grounds of appeal advanced.
This litigation stretches back to events in October 2020, and this is the second time the case will have reached the Court of Appeal.
Laurence Fox (D) was the defendant and counterclaimant in a libel action brought by three claimants: Simon Blake (C1), Colin Seymour (C2), and Nicola Thorp (C3).
Nicklin J (a) refused D’s application for a trial by jury: [2022] 4 WLR 77; (b) excluded D’s pleaded ‘context’ as being inadmissible in the determination of meaning: [2022] EWHC 2726 (QB) at [6]-[26]; and (c) ruled on the natural & ordinary meaning of each of the tweets sued upon at a trial of preliminary issues: [2023] EMLR 12.
The trial of preliminary issues judgment was appealed by D, where the Court of Appeal largely refused his appeal, but allowed it in relation to C3’s claim which was thereby dismissed: [2023] EWCA Civ 1000.
The claims of C1 and C2, and D’s counterclaims against all three Cs, proceded to an 8-day trial which was heard by Collins Rice J at the end of 2023. Collins Rice J handed down judgment on liability in January 2024 ([2024] EWHC 146 (KB)), granting C1 and C2 judgment on their claims, and dismissing D’s counterclaims on the basis of lack of causation of serious harm (and declining to resolve in the alternative the Truth (C3) and Honest Opinion (C1, C2) defences advanced in the counterclaims).
After a short remedies hearing in the Spring of 2024, in a further judgment ([2024] EWHC 956 (KB)), Collins Rice J awarded C1 and C2 each £90,000 in damages, and final injunctions against repetition of the defamatory statement, but refused their pleas for a s.12 Defamation Act 2013 order.
D applied to the Court of Appeal against both the liability and remedies judgments of Collins Rice J, advancing 7 grounds of appeal.
Permission to appeal has been granted by Warby LJ only on Grounds 1, 2, 4, 5, and 7. Permission to appeal was refused on Grounds 3 and 6.
The Order on Permission to Appeal is here: CA-2024-001499 SEALED ORDER.
D’s full Grounds of Appeal are here: CA Grounds of Appeal FINAL.
The Skeleton Argument filed in support of D’s application for permission to appeal can be viewed here: CA PTA Skeleton FINAL.
Laurence Fox is represented by Alex Marzec & Greg Callus of 5RB, who are led by Patrick Green KC of Henderson Chambers, instructed by Gateley Legal.