LIBEL AND SLANDER – AUSTRALIA

No formal protest over Rush, court told

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Original article by Nicola Berkovic
The Australian – Page: 3 : 27-Sep-18

The defamation case over allegations against Hollywood star Geoffrey Rush has continued in the Federal Court. The case centres on a series of newspaper articles about Rush’s alleged inappropriate behaviour during a Sydney Theatre Company production. Rush’s lawyer told the court that the actress who made the allegations had never lodged a formal complaint about his conduct, and there had been no formal investigation of the allegations. Instead, the allegations had been raised by the actress in a conversation with two other members of the STC in a bar.

CORPORATES
SYDNEY THEATRE COMPANY, FEDERAL COURT OF AUSTRALIA, NATIONWIDE NEWS PTY LTD

Alan Jones defamed Wagner family over Grantham floods

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Original article by Mark Ludlow
The Australian Financial Review – Page: Online : 13-Sep-18

Macquarie Media will have to pay Toowoomba’s Wagner brothers $3.75 million after it and broadcaster Alan Jones lost a defamation case in the Supreme Court of Queensland. The case related to allegations by Jones in broadcasts in 2014 and 2015 that the quarry the brothers owned had caused the deaths of 12 people in the Grantham floods in 2011. The Wagner brothers had been seeking $4.8 million in damages. Justice Peter Flanagan directed Jones and his programs to never again repeat his defamatory comments.

CORPORATES
MACQUARIE MEDIA LIMITED – ASX MRN, SUPREME COURT OF QUEENSLAND, RADIO 4BC BRISBANE PTY LTD, 2GB, QANTAS AIRWAYS LIMITED – ASX QAN, VIRGIN AUSTRALIA HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX VAH

Decision day for Alan Jones in Wagner defamation case

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Original article by Mark Schliebs
The Australian – Page: Online : 12-Sep-18

Supreme Court of Queensland Justice Peter Flanagan will hand down his decision in a defamation case involving broadcaster Alan Jones on 12 September. The Toowoomba-based Wagner brothers are seeking $4.8 million in damages over 32 broadcasts made by Jones in 2014 and 2015. The Wagners claim they were defamed by imputations that the collapse of a dirt wall in a quarry they owned caused the deaths of 12 people in floods in 2011. They are also suing Jones and co-defendants 4BC and Harbour Radio regarding allegations concerning the Wellcamp airport near Toowoomba; journalist Nick Cater is a defendant in regard to one of the 32 broadcasts.

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SUPREME COURT OF QUEENSLAND, RADIO 4BC BRISBANE PTY LTD, HARBOUR RADIO PTY LTD

Court tells Wilson to pay back $4.2m

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Original article by Michael Pelly
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 2 : 28-Jun-18

Victoria’s Court of Appeal has ordered Hollywood star Rebel Wilson to pay 80 per cent of the legal costs that Bauer Media incurred in its appeal against her landmark defamation payout. Wilson had initially been awarded a record $A4.7m, which Bauer paid in September 2017. This was subsequently reduced to just $A600,000 plus interest on appeal, and Wilson has been ordered to repay more than $A4.1m.

CORPORATES
BAUER MEDIA AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, COURT OF APPEAL (VICTORIA)

Google braces for conga line of claims

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Original article by Michael Pelly
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 33 : 15-Jun-18

Mills Oakley partner Stuart Gibson says at least 20 defamation cases against Google could proceed after the High Court ruled that Michael Trkulja can take legal action against the digital giant. Gibson represented Trkulja in his bid to overturn the Victorian Court of Appeal’s ruling that he had no prospect of success in his claim against Google. Trkulja launched legal action after search engine results implied that he was linked to Melbourne’s underworld.

CORPORATES
GOOGLE INCORPORATED, MILLS OAKLEY LAWYERS PTY LTD, HIGH COURT OF AUSTRALIA, COURT OF APPEAL (VICTORIA), YAHOO! INCORPORATED, UNIVERSITY OF SYDNEY

Wilson confident she can defeat Bauer Media appeal over payout

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Original article by Broede Carmody
The Age – Page: 5 : 20-Apr-18

Bauer Media is challenging the size of its payout to actress Rebel Wilson after a Victorian jury found in 2017 that it had defamed her. Justice John Dixon awarded Wilson damages of $A4.5 million, which Bauer is now contesting in the Court of Appeal. Media is not challenging the judgment, but only the amount, which it claims is "manifestly excessive". It is also contesting Justice Dixon’s finding that Wilson should be compensated for roles she claims to have missed out on because of its actions, claiming that there was insufficient evidence on this issue.

CORPORATES
BAUER MEDIA AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, COURT OF APPEAL (VICTORIA), FAIRFAX MEDIA LIMITED – ASX FXJ, NEWS CORPORATION – ASX NWS, SEVEN WEST MEDIA LIMITED – ASX SWM, AUSTRALIAN BROADCASTING CORPORATION

Sharp rise in social media abuse calls for defamation law reform

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Original article by Dana McCauley
The Australian – Page: Online : 12-Mar-18

The proportion of defamation cases emanating from digital publication – be it social media, a blog or a news web site – has risen from 17 per cent to 53 per cent over the 10 years to 2017, according to the Centre for Media Transition at the University of Technology, Sydney. The Centre also found that the majority of "digital defamation" cases over the period between 2013 and 2017 did not involve paid journalists. Peter Fray, professor of journalism practice at UTS, claims people are becoming addicted to defamation, and that Australian defamation laws need to change.

CORPORATES
UNIVERSITY OF TECHNOLOGY, SYDNEY, NEWS CORPORATION – ASX NWS, FACEBOOK AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, GOOGLE AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, BAUER MEDIA AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, PRESS COUNCIL OF AUSTRALIA

Wilson, Bauer quibble over costs

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Original article by Adam Cooper
The Sydney Morning Herald – Page: 16 : 9-Mar-18

The Supreme Court of Victoria has been told that a cost consultant has estimated that Bauer Media should be liable for about $A1.12m of the legal costs incurred by Hollywood star Rebel Wilson in a lengthy defamation lawsuit. Wilson’s legal costs arising from the case were around $A1.4m in total, and she is seeking to recover $A1.3m in costs from Bauer, in addition to the $A4.56m in damages it was ordered to pay after losing the defamation case.

CORPORATES
BAUER MEDIA AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, SUPREME COURT OF VICTORIA

Actress at heart of case against Rush revealed

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Original article by Rosemary Neill
The Australian – Page: 1 & 2 : 20-Feb-18

The defence document of Sydney tabloid "The Daily Telegraph" shows that actress Eryn Jean Norvill has accused Hollywood star Geoffrey Rush of touching her inappropriately during the Sydney Theatre Company’s performance of "King Lear" in early 2016. Rush has denied the allegations, and he launched defamation proceedings against the newspaper in late 2017. Federal Court lifted a suppression order on the defence document on 19 February, although it has reserved a decision on an application to strike out some elements of the document.

CORPORATES
SYDNEY THEATRE COMPANY, FEDERAL COURT OF AUSTRALIA

McLachlan set to sue Fairfax, ABC

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Original article by Matthew Westwood
The Australian – Page: 3 : 22-Jan-18

Australian actor Craig McLachlan says his career has been "annihilated" by allegations that he sexually harassed and indecently assaulted three female cast members during a 2014 production of "The Rocky Horror Show". He continues to deny the allegations and intends to sue Fairfax Media and the ABC for defamation, after the allegations were reported in "The Age" and "The Sydney Morning Herald" and on the "7:30" current affairs show.

CORPORATES
FAIRFAX MEDIA LIMITED – ASX FXJ, AUSTRALIAN BROADCASTING CORPORATION, NEWS CORP AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, NEWS CORPORATION – ASX NWS