M.P.’s Comment On Writ Incorrect—publisher (Press, 15 November 1986)
This is a Generative AI summary of this newspaper article. It may contain errors or omissions. Please note that the language in the summary is reflective of the original article and the societal attitudes of the time in which it was written.
Summary: M.P.’s Comment On Writ Incorrect—publisher (Press, 15 November 1986)
On 15 November 1986, Tony Katavich, the publisher of "Out!" magazine, addressed comments made by Graeme Lee, a National member of Parliament for Hauraki, regarding a defamation case involving a $1.25 million writ against Lee. Katavich stated that Lee's claims suggested that his company, the Lawrence Publishing Company (N.Z.) Ltd, initiated the dropping of the writs, which he deemed incorrect and misleading. The context of the legal dispute stems from a court ruling by Justice Tompkins in June 1986, wherein Lee's attempt to dismiss the writs was unsuccessful. Justice Tompkins determined that there was indeed a case for Lee to answer regarding the alleged defamation. Following this ruling, Lee, through his solicitors, offered to drop his defamation action against "Out!" magazine if the magazine and its publishers agreed to discontinue their claim against him. Katavich clarified that "Out!" magazine opted to accept Lee's apology in order to avoid the lengthy and costly process of a drawn-out legal battle. He emphasised that at no point had "Out!" or its publisher admitted liability regarding the defamation allegations or issued an apology. He suggested that the decision by Justice Tompkins indicating that Lee had a case to answer influenced Lee's legal counsel to propose a settlement that involved mutually withdrawing all legal actions. Furthermore, Katavich expressed concern about the misleading nature of Lee's statements, which suggested an acceptance of liability by "Out!" and prompted the directors of his company to reconsider the notice of discontinuation of their writs, as they had not yet finalised this action. The dispute and ensuing comments arose during the debate on the Homosexual Law Reform Bill.
Important Information
The text on this page is created, in the most part, using Generative AI and so may contain errors or omissions. It is supplied to you without guarantee or warranty of correctness. If you find an error or would like to make a content suggestion please get in contact
The text on this page is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 New Zealand