A judge has adjourned trial in the defamation case by accused war criminal Ben Roberts-Smith to early 2022, saying relocation was not practical after COVID-19 restrictions prevented Fairfax’s witnesses travelling to Sydney.
Defence minister Peter Dutton has given evidence of his “hurt” at trial in a defamation case over a tweet accusing him of being a rape apologist, while the judge presiding over the hearing has warned lawyers for the tweeter to act as solicitors not “supporters”.
Former SAS soldier Ben Roberts-Smith is fighting to shield medical records Fairfax says should be made public to “safeguard open justice”, as trial in his defamation case against the publisher faces further delay due to COVID-19 border restrictions.
A judge has spoken of his personal challenge as an “older, white male” in deciding the objective meaning of racism in Nine Network sports reporter Erin Molan’s defamation case, and said the matter would have been worthy of a trial by jury.
Nine subsidiary Fairfax Media has agreed to pay compensation to a Papua New Guinea politician who sued the publisher for defamation for allegedly engaging in a “smear campaign”, with a judge making an order of compensation despite a “ludicrous” objection from Fairfax.
A Western Australia Supreme Court judge has dodged a lawsuit by a kosher compliance inspector who alleged he was defamed by an email that claimed the inspector did not have “shem tov”, or a good name, in Perth’s Jewish community.
A defamation case brought by former footy show host Sam Newman and AFL veteran Donald Scott against sports photographer Wayne Ludbey over comments made about a historic image of indigenous AFL footballer Nicky Winmar has settled.
Former Attorney-General Christian Porter has stepped down from the federal cabinet after refusing to reveal information about an anonymous donor that covered a portion of his costs in pursuing defamation proceedings against the ABC over an article airing historical rape allegations.
NRL player Jack de Belin has settled his defamation lawsuit against the publisher of The Daily Telegraph over an article, cartoon and tweet that allegedly implied he was a rapist and a “despicable person”.
The sister of NBA star Ben Simmons has been ordered to pay $550,000 in damages to half-brother Sean Tribe for a series of Tweets alleging Tribe sexually molested her as a child.