"You May Delay, But Time Will Not" – Benjamin Franklin

William McClean v. Sunday Newspapers Limited

This High Court decision delivered on 30 May, 2014 serves as an important reminder of the potentially fatal nature of a delay on the part of a plaintiff in the prosecution of any proceedings, but in particular in a defamation claim.

The Case

The proceedings involved a newspaper article, published in April 2000 in the Sunday World, which alleged, amongst other things, that the plaintiff had sought to sell compromising photos of a woman whom, at the time, had gained some media notoriety.

Following the initiation of the proceedings within 3 months of the publication, pleadings were delivered over a 2 year period. However, that was followed by a 7 year hiatus where Mr. McClean did nothing, before deciding to advance matters and issued a notice of intention to proceed. After that notice issued there was a further 3 year delay when Mr. McClean again did nothing. The defendant, Sunday Newspapers Ltd, decided to bring an