Justice David O’Callaghan

A judge has awarded Independent Sydney MP Alex Greenwich $140,000 in his defamation case against former NSW One Nation leader Mark Latham over a homophobic tweet found likely to cause “serious harm” to his reputation. 

The former deputy leader of the Victorian Liberal Party will be required to give evidence in person in a defamation case against party leader John Pesutto by expelled party member Moira Deeming, with a judge noting the importance of cross-examination “chemistry” where credibility is at issue.

Legal action by a Melbourne Football Club member challenging the AFL club’s board election rules has been dismissed, with a judge finding the rule banning campaigning by candidates is not oppressive as alleged.

A judge has expressed concern about the Australian Securities and Investments Commission’s suspicion that a former director of Keystone Asset Management may have used investor funds to purchase a house in his wife’s name, calling it “alarming”.

ASIC has secured freezing orders over the assets of an investment fund managed by Keystone Asset Management, with a court also ordering a Keystone director to surrender his passport amid an investigation by the corporate regulator. 

Trial in ASIC’s action accusing former Dixon Advisory director Paul Ryan of breaching his duties began Monday, a case that puts the spotlight on legal advice over a deed that affected the wealth management firm’s capacity to recoup a $19 million debt on the eve of its collapse.

The corporate regulator is on a winning streak in its greenwashing cases, with a judge rejecting Active Super’s attempt to qualify its “unequivocal” statements about limiting its investment in companies connected to gambling and coal mining.

A homophobic tweet by former NSW One Nation leader Mark Latham unleashed an “utterly hateful torrent of abuse and vitriol”, including death threats against Independent Sydney MP Alex Greenwich, which left him fearing for his safety, a court has heard. 

Counsel for independent Sydney member Alex Greenwich has raised concerns about livestreaming the trial in his defamation case against former NSW One Nation leader Mark Latham after witnessing the “astonishing” and “very disturbing” social media commentary during the Bruce Lehrmann trial.

The Full Court has clarified that a prior bad reputation is relevant to determining whether a defamation plaintiff has suffered serious harm, tossing an appeal by a Sydney lawyer who lost her case over an article related to her conviction for an alleged $16,000 scam at David Jones, which was later overturned.