The NSW Supreme Court published a second pleading decision in Hussein Faraj’s defamation proceeding against Fairfax Media Publications on 19 June 2026. It followed a further application by Mr Faraj to amend his statement of claim. Justice Campbell recorded that the parties had resolved many proposed changes by agreement, leaving one disputed imputation for decision.
The remaining dispute
The proposed imputation concerned statements about NuCoin, Alameda Research and FTX. The Court held that the passages identified from the Sydney Morning Herald article were not capable of conveying the particular proposed meaning and that a suggested variation did not sufficiently correspond with the earlier concerns notice. The Court disallowed that imputation.
Mr Faraj was directed to file a further amended claim by 26 June 2026, and Fairfax was directed to file and serve a defence by 7 August 2026. The Court ordered Mr Faraj to pay Fairfax’s costs of the motion.
Procedural, not final
This decision concerns what could be pleaded, not whether the disputed article was ultimately defamatory or whether any allegation in it was true. The published reasons do not state a final result in the underlying claim.