The plaintiff wrote a negative book review of the defendant's novel.
The defendant responded with an allegedly defamatory letter sent by email to the magazine's editors, which was published in print and online.
The defendant also faxed the letter to two other newspapers, which did not publish it.
The plaintiff sued for libel but failed to serve notice under s. 5(1) of the Libel and Slander Act.
The Court of Appeal held that the defendant could rely on the notice provision for the print and online magazine publications, as the online version constituted a 'newspaper'.
However, the faxes and the original email to the editors were separate publications not in a newspaper, so the action could proceed regarding those specific transmissions.
