Broadcaster Alan Jones declined an offer to settle a lawsuit alleging he defamed a prominent Queensland family by blaming them for the deaths of 12 people in the 2011 Grantham floods because he would not agreed to the terms of a proposed apology.
Rebel Wilson has lost a bid to have the High Court reconsider an appeals court’s decision to slash her record $4.75 million award in a defamation case against Bauer Media to $600,000.
A barrister for the ABC and Fairfax has told the Federal Court that an appeal against the dismissal of their truth defence in the Chau Chak Wing defamation case will have “massive ramifications for mass media”.
The judge overseeing Geoffrey Rush’s defamation trial interjected in Nationwide News’ closing submissions on Wednesday, expressing doubt about the publisher’s interpretation of evidence — including a text message with a tongue emoji Rush sent to his accuser — said to back its defence in the case.
A defamation case brought by Greens senator Sarah Hanson-Young against fellow senator David Leyonhjelm will go ahead after Leyonhjelm lost a bid to shut the suit down on the grounds of parliamentary privilege.
The former chief executive officer of Sydney’s Parramatta Council is suing Fairfax Media, saying three articles published in the Sydney Morning Herald accusing him of lying on his resume were defamatory.
The Daily Telegraph publisher Nationwide News has lost a bid to amend its defence in Geoffrey Rush’s defamation case to include evidence from an unnamed witness it claimed would support the imputation that Rush engaged in sexual misconduct, with the judge saying the prejudice to Rush would be “manifest and palpable”.
Actor Geoffrey Rush is seeking to suppress an amended defence by Nationwide News, arguing that if they’re made public the amendments could cause him “irreparable harm”.
Geoffrey Rush’s co-star Eryn Jean Norvill took the stand Tuesday in the actor’s defamation case against Nationwide News, telling a court she felt “panicked” and “trapped” by Rush’s allegedly inappropriate behaviour during a production of King Lear at the Sydney Theatre Company.
Nationwide News says two expert reports written by a friend and agent of actor Geoffrey Rush should be thrown out because the two are advocates for Rush, as the first week in the closely watched defamation trial wrapped up.