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Defamation Act 1992

Remedies

29: Matters to be taken into account in mitigation of damages

You could also call this:

"Things that reduce the amount of money someone gets for being defamed"

Illustration for Defamation Act 1992

When you are working out how much money someone should get because they were defamed, you need to think about some things that might reduce the amount of money. You should consider what the person who did the defaming did to fix the situation, like if they published a correction, retraction, or apology, and how they did it. You also need to think about if the person who did the defaming explained or rebutted what they said, and how they did that, as well as any court orders or delays that were the plaintiff's fault.

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View the original legislation for this page at https://legislation.govt.nz/act/public/1986/0120/latest/link.aspx?id=DLM281244.

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"Getting extra compensation when someone disrespects your rights on purpose"

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"When you sue someone, your past wrongdoings can affect the money you get."

Part 3Remedies

29Matters to be taken into account in mitigation of damages

  1. In assessing damages in any proceedings for defamation, the following matters shall be taken into account in mitigation of damages:

  2. in respect of the publication of any correction, retraction, or apology published by the defendant, the nature, extent, form, manner, and time of that publication:
    1. in respect of the publication, by the defendant, of any statement of explanation or rebuttal, or of both explanation and rebuttal, in relation to the matter that is the subject of the proceedings, the nature, extent, form, manner, and time of that publication:
      1. the terms of any injunction or declaration that the court proposes to make or grant:
        1. any delay between the publication of the matter in respect of which the proceedings are brought and the decision of the court in those proceedings, being delay for which the plaintiff was responsible.

          Compare
          • 1954 No 46 s 12