What Are Nominal Damages In A Libel Case?

Most claimants go into a libel case hoping to be awarded various remedies, including a public statement that the libel was untrue, an order preventing the libel being repeated again in the future, and their legal costs. Perhaps the most important remedy for some claimants is to be paid damages to compensate them for the harm which has been caused to their reputation. 

However, there are some cases where a claimant can bring a perfectly legitimate claim, and win at trial, only to be awarded a very low sum in damages. This is known as "nominal damages". It tends to happen either where the Court believes that the case should never have been brought, as the costs were entirely disproportionate, or because there was some other issue with the claim. 

In a recent appeal, the Court of Appeal found that a High Court judge correctly awarded damages of just £1 to claimant who lied to the court during his libel claim.

The claimant, Craig Wright, claimed to have invented bitcoin and brought a claim for libel against a defendant who had said this was a fraudulent statement. Whilst Wright won his case, the High Court judge who dealt with his case was so unimpressed by Wright's exaggeration of the harm the libellous statement had caused him, that he awarded him damages of just £1. 

In his appeal, Wright argued that the High Court judge did not have the right to reduce his damages so dramatically. The Court of Appeal unanimously disagreed, and found that the High Court judge had applied principles of defamation law properly. The Appeal Court's view was that Wright had lied and had "attempted to obtain an advantage by deceiving the court". They said that the judge was entitled to take this into account when he was deciding what damages ought to be awarded to Wright. 

If you want to know what libel damages you could claim, there are many factors which would need to be taken into consideration. These will include:

• the seriousness of the untrue statements which have been made about you;
• how widely those untrue statements have been published and republished; and
• how seriously you have been harmed as a result of what has been said about you. 

A solicitor should be able to provide you with an estimate of the damages you can claim as compensation for libel, at a very early stage of your case. This will help you decide whether you want to issue Court proceedings against your opponent. 

Contact us to find out how we can help.