The battle over costs in Ben Roberts-Smith’s multimillion-dollar failed defamation case continues despite media mogul Kerry Stokes agreeing to pay the legal costs of the embattled soldier’s opponents. Mr Stokes, the owner of Seven West Media, made the decision to pay the costs, with an order made during a surpriseContinue Reading
Ben Roberts-Smith’s financial supporters at the Seven Network, including billionaire Kerry Stokes, will have to hand over thousands of documents, including personal emails, showing their level of involvement in the soldier’s failed defamation trial. In July, Federal Court Justice Anthony Besanko ruled some of the imputations against Mr Roberts-Smith putContinue Reading
Ben Roberts-Smith will have to pay the legal costs of his opponents on an indemnity basis after a judge found he knew war crimes allegations made about him could be proven substantively true. The decorated former soldier sued The Sydney Morning Herald, The Age and The Canberra Times over aContinue Reading
A former special forces commando has won his defamation case against the ABC and was awarded $390,000 in damages after a Federal Court judge ruled the national broadcaster could not prove articles were reported in the public interest. Heston Russell sued the ABC and two investigative journalists for defamation overContinue Reading
Lawyers for Nine Newspapers say Ben Roberts-Smith caused his multimillion-dollar defamation trial to be “grossly prolonged”, as it was directed towards “concealing the truth” as the battle over the estimated $25m legal bill rolls on. The decorated former soldier sued The Sydney Morning Herald, The Age and The Canberra TimesContinue Reading
Former soldier Heston Russell wishes to hold journalists to a “higher and entirely unrealistic” standard in his defamation case against the ABC, lawyers representing the national broadcaster have told the court. The former special forces commando is suing the ABC and two investigative journalists over stories published in 2020 andContinue Reading
A defamation trial between a special forces commando and the ABC is entering its final stages on Tuesday after the national broadcaster published articles claiming he was involved in the shooting of an unarmed prisoner. Heston Russell is suing the ABC and two investigative journalists over stories published in 2020Continue Reading
A senior investigative reporter with the ABC sent a text to a confidential source saying he was being sued under Australia’s “crazy” defamation laws by someone he had “never written about”, a court has been told. Heston Russell is suing the ABC and two investigative journalists for defamation over storiesContinue Reading
Lawyers and financial backers who assisted Ben Roberts-Smith in his multimillion-dollar defamation trial have been ordered to hand over thousands of documents which will show their level of involvement, as the dispute over who will pay costs of the mammoth proceeding continues. Earlier this year, Federal Court Justice Anthony BesankoContinue Reading
Lawyers representing the ABC have argued in court that it’s “absolutely vital” the media is free to “report upon allegations of war crimes” as public interest sits “well above truth”. Heston Russell is suing the ABC and two investigative journalists for defamation over stories published in 2020 and 2021 thatContinue Reading