Societe Generale Banking on Libel Suit Against U.K. Paper

Image via WikipediaSociete Generale, France's second largest bank, has sued Associated Newspapers, publisher of the Mail on Sunday, for defamation based on an article last August claiming the financial services institution was on "the brink of disaster" and in a "perilous" state.

The Guardian reports that the Mail on Sunday  retracted the article and published an online apology, but Societe Generale said no dice, claiming the Website "oops" was difficult to find and that the paper had failed to publish in its print edition that the original article was not true.

Societe Generale alleges it sustained "substantial damage to its reputation and prejudice to its trade" because of the inaccurate Mail on Sunday article. For its part, the defendant contends it already said it was sorry and plans to contest the suit.

Judges Find U,K. Dailies Contempible

Image via WikipediaAssociated Newspapers and News Group Newspapers Ltd., publishers of The Daily Mail and The Sun, respectively, are girding for penalties and costs after judges separately found the dailies violated England's strict liability rule under the 1981 Contempt of Court Act, according to today's The Guardian.

The offending papers in their online editions published photos of Ryan Ward, who was convicted in 2009 of the murder of mechanic Craig Wass, posing with a handgun. Although Ward dispatched the victim by striking him on the head with a brick, Attorney General Dominic Grieve nonetheless complained to the courts that the publications created a substantial risk of contaminating a jury by posting the inflammatory photos.

Mr. Justice Owen and Lord Justice Moses found the newspapers violated the strict liability rule "notwithstanding that publication of the image of the accused with a pistol was a mistake." Counsel for the newspapers had argued any prejudice caused by the publication of the photos was insubstantial and that the courts had adequately warned jurors to steer clear of the Internet. But Justice Moses wasn't buying it, noting that once a story or image is published on the Internet, it is nearly impossible to eradicate.

Kate Winslet Exercised at Daily Mail, Accepts Libel Payment

Image by Getty Images via Daylife

Oscar-winning actress Kate Winslet, 34, has accepted an apology from Daily Mail owner Associated Newspapers, which was sugar-coated with a 25,000 pound ($41,012.00) settlement of her defamation claim  that was reached in the London High Court.

Winslet was incensed over an article that appeared in the Daily Mail Jan. 30, 2009, entitled: "Should Kate Winslet win an Oscar for the World's most irritating actress?" The article, according to Winslet's attorney, was offensive in tone, featured  nude photos of the actress taken from scenes in various films and accused Winslet of lying about her exercise regimen.  Besides apologizing for any "distress" caused the actress who appeared most recently in "Revolutionary Road" and "The Reader," Associated Newspapers agreed to pay her attorneys' fess and damages and published an apology in September.  In 2007, Winslet received an undisclosed sum in settlement of a suit she brought against Grazia magazine, which alleged she had visited a diet doctor.

No announcement concerning what Winslet intends to do with her "Titanic" settlement, but one can buy considerable "Romance & Cigarettes" with $40,000.