A DEFAMATION expert has warned warring families to watch what they say after a woman who called her in-law a pedophile during a "family feud" was ordered to pay him $30,000 in damages.
Only four people - including the man's son and daughter - heard the remark, which was made during a child access dispute in July last year.
But District Court Judge Judith Gibson, who ordered the payout, said: "The making of an allegation of pedophilia, in the context of a dispute of access and custody, is like pouring oil onto a fire.
"It caused the plaintiff a great deal of anxiety and concern. The fact that a serious defamation was published to persons who are close to the plaintiff does not make it any the less hurtful."
Macquarie University's law school defamation expert Roy Baker said Australia probably had the most stringent defamation laws of any English-speaking country.
He had not heard of a case like this in 20 years and said most people would be surprised to learn that something said in anger could land them in court.
"This is one of those salutary warnings," he said.
"Watch what you say, only say what you mean and if you say more than you mean, you should immediately correct it and probably apologise."
Those involved cannot be identified for legal reasons but the woman who made the defamatory remark was the maternal grandmother of the child at the centre of the dispute.
She admitted she was in a "terrible mood" and "just went off my head" before making the allegation about the child's paternal grandfather.
The court heard that when the man's daughter answered the door, the grandmother told her: "You know your dad's a pedophile - a complete stranger came up to me in the street and told me."
The defence claimed it was just "vulgar abuse" but the man launched defamation proceedings after the grandmother failed to apologise. He also sought aggravated damages because the allegation was untrue. Judge Gibson awarded $30,000 in compensation due to the very serious nature of the allegation.
Relationship Australia's Anne Hollonds said people generally would not contemplate that they might be sued over verbal abuse.
She said people who felt hurt or emotional in family situations might lash out but "it's never a good idea to resort to verbal or physical abuse".
Former
Australian Association of Relationship Counsellors president Charles Wilson said people caught up in their emotions could say things they may later regret.
"We should always be careful about what we say because sometimes we don't know what the consequences are and we don't always take into account other people's feelings," he said.
