A judge who has been an enthusiastic lab rat in the virtual hearing experiment forced on the country’s courts by the COVID-19 pandemic has expressed doubts that he is accurately reading witnessses giving remote evidence.
Western Australia premier Mark McGowan has been ordered to appear in person in a Sydney court to give evidence at trial in a defamation case by mining billionaire Clive Palmer, but a judge has pushed back the hearing so McGowan can attend state parliament.
Google has argued there would be a “devastating” effect on the internet if the High Court upholds a judgment awarded to gangland lawyer George Defteros that found the tech giant liable for linking to an allegedly defamatory article.
A new draft bill aimed at deterring social media trolls is unlikely to be as effective as incoming state-driven alternatives, the Law Council of Australia said in its submission to the federal government on Monday.
A court has made orders trimming the $990 hourly fee charged by a QC while representing Jo Dyer, a friend of the woman who accused Christian Porter of rape who succeeded in having silk Sue Chrysanthou removed from a defamation suit brought by the former attorney-general.
Trial plans in accused war criminal Ben Roberts-Smith’s defamation case against Nine have hit another roadblock because of COVID-19 restrictions, less than two weeks before the hearing is set to resume, with the media giant now suggesting a move to Western Australia.
Christian Porter and silk Sue Chrysanthou have been ordered to pay $430,200 in legal costs to Jo Dyer, a friend of the woman who accused Porter of rape, after she succeeded in having the barrister removed from the former attorney-general’s defamation lawsuit against the ABC.
Clive Palmer has won his bid to view text messages between Western Australian premier Mark McGowan and the state attorney-general discussing a bill to ban the billionaire mining magnate from suing the state for $30 billion.
Switzer Financial Group has sued a former senior adviser, claiming he sent a defamatory email to a client accusing the firm — run by financial commentator Peter Switzer — of lacking concern about a conflict of interest.
A judge has rejected an art collector’s bid to enforce a settlement in litigation against the publisher of the Sunday Telegraph over an allegedly defamatory story concerning his purchase of a painting by Australian artist Del Kathryn Barton, finding he had lied about the story being false.