Defamation litigation statistics for 2011 published

The Inforrm Blog has published its annual summary of libel litigation in England and Wales. It reports that 23 final determination hearings were held in the High Court in 2011, down from 21 in 2010. Unusually, only three cases involved the mainstream media. Only two trials took place, neither of which were a jury trial.There has not been a libel jury trial since 22 July 2009.

The report notes that the figures are skewed by five cases involving Rick Kordowski, the former owner/operator of solicitors from Hell. Brett Wilson LLP was instructed in three of these cases, most significantly the claim by the Law society which resulted in the websites closure (seehttp://brettwilsonllp.blogspot.com/2011/12/judgment-handed-down-in-solicitors-from_07.html)

The figures do not include settlements or statements in open court (it is understood there were 24 statements in open court). The number of defamation claims issued in 2011 has not yet been published, but 158 claims were issued in 2010.

The Inforrm summary, including a full list of the hearings can be found at the below link:

http://inforrm.wordpress.com/2012/01/11/defamation-trials-summary-determinations-and-assessments-in-2011/