Defamation

An investigator has failed in his appeal of a $350,000 defamation award for former Perth barrister Lloyd Rayney on the grounds of apprehended bias.

A judge has denied Fairfax’s bid to strike out allegations by a Western Australian businessman that it was the publisher of allegedly defamatory comments that appeared on one of its Facebook pages.

In allowing Seven and chairman Kerry Stokes to challenge a ruling granting Fairfax access to 8,600 emails with accused war criminal Ben Roberts-Smith’s legal team, a judge has said they will suffer prejudice if “personally embarrassing” communications are put into evidence. 

The Office of the Special Investigator has been granted access to sensitive evidence in Ben Roberts-Smith’s unsuccessful defamation case against Fairfax for its investigation into war crimes in Afghanistan. 

Seven Network and chairman Kerry Stokes can challenge a ruling allowing Fairfax to access thousands of “deeply personal” emails sent to and from former soldier Ben Roberts-Smith during his defamation case.

A judge has expressed his preliminary view that cases brought in Queensland cannot be thrown out where the costs of the claims are disproportionate to their importance, allowing a defamation case by entrepreneur Robert McVicker against the ABC to proceed. 

Subpoenas granting Fairfax access to thousands of emails to and from former soldier Ben Roberts-Smith, represent “a very real and profound intrusion into private affairs,” a court has heard.

The publishers of The Australian and Al Jazeera have failed to persuade a judge to hold a preliminary hearing on the question of whether the nephew of the former prime minister of Cambodia suffered serious harm as a result of publications he says painted him as a criminal.

Racing NSW CEO Peter V’landys AM has failed in his bid to have the High Court take up his challenge to an appeals court ruling that found an ABC report on the killing of racehorses was not defamatory despite not being high quality journalism.

A judge has dismissed a Sydney lawyer’s defamation case over an AI-generated story that accused her of trying to defraud $16,000 from David Jones, saying she had admitted to deceitful acts and had not suffered serious harm.