In Haddad v Nationwide News Pty Ltd; Cheikho v Nationwide News Pty Ltd (No 2) [2014] NSWSC 775 the New South Wales Supreme Court has refused to consolidate two sets defamation proceedings which arose out of articles published by Nationwide concerning the Sydney protest against the Youtube 'Innocence of Muslims' video.
The NSWSC ruled that although the two proceedings raised common questions and relied on common defences, there was substantial risk of prejudice against each of the plaintiffs in both proceedings if the proceedings were to have been tried together.