Taylor v Beere

Taylor v Beere [1982] 1 NZLR 81 is a cited case in New Zealand regarding exemplary damages in tort

Taylor v Beere
Court	Court of Appeal of New Zealand
Full case name	Alister Taylor v Margaret Lorraine Beere
Decided	19 March 1982
Citation	[1982] 1 NZLR 81
Transcript	High Court judgment
Court membership
Judges sitting	Cooke P, Richardson J, Somers J
Keywords
negligence, defamation, exemplary damages

Background

Mrs Beere had one of her friends who was an amateur photographer take a photograph of her and her granddaughter in their home.

In 1972, Beere discovered that another friend, controversial publisher Alister Taylor, had obtained the negative, and was planning to print a guidebook for teenagers called "Down under the Plum Trees" about sex, alcohol and drug use featuring this photo.

Beere wrote to Taylor, demanding that her photo not be used in his book, but Taylor included this photo in the first 10,000 books.

Her photo featuring in such a book caused Beere embarrassment, as people thought she had agreed to be in the book.

As a result, Beere sued for defamation.

Held

Beere was awarded $12,500 in damages, which included an award for exemplary damages.