Osler libel victory

Congrats to David Osler on his victory; I hope Alex Hilton has the same outcome. The judgement is online. Here’s an interesting bit – on circumstances in which a libel action can be struck out as an abuse of process:

21. In Jameel, the Court of Appeal addressed abuse of process in the context of defamation in the following passages:

“40. We accept that in the rare case where a claimant brings an action for defamation in circumstances where his reputation has suffered no or minimal actual damage, this may constitute an interference with freedom of expression that is not necessary for the protection of the claimant’s reputation. In such circumstances the appropriate remedy for the defendant may well be to … seek to strike out the action as an abuse of process…”

For one reason or another, I find that fascinating.