03/02/2020 Stocker v Stocker [2019] UKSC 17 (3 April 2019) trial judge’s conclusion should not be lightly set aside but if an appellate court considers that the meaning that he has given to the statement was outside the range of reasonably available alternatives, it should not be deterred from so saying by the use of epithets such as “plainly” or “quite” satisfied. If it was vitiated by an error of law then the appellate court will have to choose between remitting the matter or, more usually in this context, determining the meaning afresh. But if the appellate court would just prefer a different meaning within a reasonably available range, then it should not interfere. 60. This discussion is academic in the present case for I am of the view that Mitting J’s use of the dictionary definitions to confine the possible meanings of the Facebook post involved an error of law and, on that account the Court of Appeal needed to approach the question of meaning afresh. Since it did not do so, that task falls to this court, with the consequence which I have described. Justification 61. In light of my conclusion as to the correct meaning to be given to the words, “tried to strangle me”, section 5 of the Defamation Act 1952 must occupy centre stage. It is beyond dispute that Mr Stocker grasped his wife by the throat so tightly as to leave red marks on her neck visible to police officers two hours after the attack on her took place. It is not disputed that he breached a nonmolestation order. Nor has it been asserted that he did not utter threats to Mrs Stocker. Many would consider these to be sufficient to establish that he was a dangerous and disreputable man, which is the justification which Mrs Stocker sought to establish. Mitting J considered that the meaning of the statement that the claimant was arrested on numerous occasions, in the context of the other statements, was that he represented a danger to any woman with whom he might live. I see no warrant for adding that dimension to the actual words used by Mrs Stocker in her various Facebook postings. 62. Even if all her allegations were considered not to have been established to the letter, there is more than enough to satisfy the provision in section 5 of the 1952 Act that her defence of justification should not fail by reason only that the truth of every charge is not proved, having regard to the truth of what has been proved. Conclusion 63. I would allow the appeal, and subject to any submissions which the parties might wish to make, order that the costs of the appeal and the hearings before the lower courts be borne by the respondent. BAILII: Copyright Policy | Disclaimers | Privacy Policy | Feedback | Donate to BAILII URL: http://www.bailii.org/uk/cases/UKSC/2019/17.html https://www.bailii.org/uk/cases/UKSC/2019/17.html 16/16