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Civil Law (Wrongs) Act 2002
139GState of mind of defendant generally not relevant to
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139G State of mind of defendant generally not relevant to awarding damages In awarding damages for defamation, the court is to disregard the malice or other state of mind of the defendant at the time of the publication of the defamatory matter to which the proceedings relate or at any other time except to the extent that the malice or other state of mind affects the harm sustained by the plaintiff.