The problem:
Ben and Celia, both former elite athletes, have been next door neig
The problem:
Ben and Celia, both former elite athletes, have been next door neighbours for more than 10 years but have never been on good terms. Celia has become increasingly annoyed by the fact that trees in Ben’s front yard, which have grown quite tall with many overhanging branches, prevent her from enjoying a full city view from her balcony. Despite repeated requests by Celia, Ben has refused to lop the trees, as he was secretly delighted that they annoyed Celia. The trees are located entirely within Ben’s property and do not encroach upon Celia’s property.
One Saturday morning in December 2023, Ben heard noises coming from his front yard and went outside his house to investigate. To his surprise, he found Celia sawing branches off his trees. When Ben challenged Celia, she waved the saw in his face and said: “If you come near me, I will saw your head off!”. Unfazed, Ben lunged at Celia, grabbed her arms and attempted to wrestle the saw from her hands. Celia, a one-time Olympic bronze medallist in swimming, fought him off and shouted, “Don’t you dare touch me!”
The altercation alerted a few of their neighbours, who were now gathering outside Ben’s house. Celia told the neighbours: “This wretch has never changed! He grabbed my arms and was trying to push me to the ground!” Ben, who retired from the Wallabies 20 years ago, was widely reported to have been charged but acquitted of domestic abuse charges against his former wife in 2021. That afternoon, Ben called his sports journalist friend, Eva, telling her: “Celia Toms, that former Olympic medallist living next door, has just threatened me with a saw after cutting up my tree!” Eva, with 5000-plus followers on her Facebook account, made a new post with these words: “Retired Olympic medallist has gone nuts, threatening long-time neighbour with a saw!”, accompanied by a picture of Celia taken at the 2004 Summer Olympics. Fred and five other Facebook users clicked Like below the post. A friend of Celia saw and reported the post. Facebook removed the post 30 minutes later. By then, about 400 people had seen the post.
Discuss any liability in tort arising from these facts including any possible defences. Confine your discussion to the torts of trespass to the person, nuisance, and/or defamation. Do not discuss remedies.
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