King v Lewis & Others

                                                         King v Lewis & Others

Facts
Don King was involved in litigation in the USA with Lennox Lewis and the second Defendant, a Nevada-based promotion company. The case concerned Don King's libel claim for publications on the internet by the third Defendant, the lawyer representing Lewis in the American litigation. All of the parties were in the USA. King brought proceedings in the UK and was granted permission to serve outside the realms of the U.S jurisdiction. The Defendants applied to set-aside the permission to serve out. Eady J refused the application and the Defendants appealed.

Issue
(1) Whether Eady J had made an error of law in the exercise in his decision; (2) Whether the international set up of publications on the Internet required any adjustment to the already set out principles.

Held
Appeal dismissed. (1) The Defendants could show no error in the approach by Eady J. (2) Four principles could be taken from the relevant case law (a) there is an initial presumption that the appropriate place for the trial is that where the tort is committed; in defamation that would be where the libel was published; (b) the more tenuous the Claimant’s connection  the weaker this consideration becomes; (c) in Internet cases the court’s discretion will be more “open-textured” in order to give effect to the publisher’s choice of a global stage; and (d) the judge must consider what is the appropriate place without thought to whether there is a “juridical advantage”. The Defendant’s intention (and possible “targeting” of the publication) were irrelevant. Internet publications attract a global audience.