Venture capitalist Elaine Stead wants Australian Financial Review columnist Joe Aston to hand over documents connected to confidential sources, and says Aston can’t rely on a journalist’s privilege protecting the identity of informants.
Lawyers from three newspapers being sued by war veteran Ben Roberts-Smith for defamation are seeking sensitive documents alleged to show the former soldier asked his wife to lie about an affair.
A Sydney rabbi who told the Royal Commission into Child Sexual Abuse that he did not know touching a child’s genitals was a crime has lost his appeal of a ruling throwing out defamation proceedings he brought against Nationwide News and SBS.
The Daily Mail’s concerted campaign against Erin Molan was a set-up that damaged her reputation and sparked a public “firestorm” against the Nine sports reporter, the Federal Court has heard.
Australian Financial Review columnist Joe Aston sent “very nasty” text messages about venture capitalist Elaine Stead, and any in-person mediation ahead of Stead’s defamation trial is unlikely to be worthwhile given the animosity between the pair, a court has been told.
Nationwide News and journalist Miranda Devine have agreed to pay a “substantial” sum to settle a defamation lawsuit brought by nine-year old Quaden Bayles over Devine’s retweets of conspiracy theories suggesting a video of Bayles posted on social media following a bullying incident were fake.
The chief of the Australian Defence Force has been given the opportunity to put on further evidence after a judge said he would otherwise order that material provided to a war crimes inquiry by Ben Roberts-Smith be produced in the war veteran’s defamation case against three news publishers.
Media companies that are fighting defamation proceedings over articles that accused decorated war veteran Ben Roberts-Smith of war crimes have won court permission to amend their defence to include evidence the soldier was involved in another alleged murder.
Venture capitalist Elaine Stead has refused to go into a second round of mediation in her defamation case against the Nine-owned Fairfax Media Publications saying it would be a “waste of time”.
After claiming he could be vindicated only by giving evidence in open court, war veteran Ben Roberts-Smith looks likely to get his wish, as the parties to his defamation proceedings finalise negotiations with the Federal Government on the use of national security information.