Dow Jones Agrees Settlement In Cross-Border Internet Defamation Case
It emerged last week that Dow Jones & Co., publisher of the Wall Street
Journal and Dow Jones Newswires has reached a settlement with Australian mining
magnate Joe Gutnick, in a precedent-setting cross-border internet defamation
case. In a Dow Jones article published in Barron's magazine and online in October
2000, Mr Gutnick was portrayed as something of a shady character, involved in
stock scams, fraudulent activity, and money laundering. The US publisher argued that the defamation case subsequently brought by the
mining boss should be heard in the United States, which is traditionally more
lenient on publishers, because the article was originally published there. However, in a move likely to have implications for all future cases of this
kind, Australia's High Court ruled that the case should be heard in Mr Gutnick's
home state of Victoria, as due to its publication online, the article could
have been read there too. According to an Associated Press report on the settlement, in addition to paying
$137,000 in compensation and $306,000 in legal fees, Dow Jones issued a statement
to be read in Victoria's Supreme Court retracting certain allegations made in
the offending article. .
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