The Australian Broadcasting Corporation has dropped its only remaining defence in a defamation case by ex-commando Heston Russell over articles that alleged he was involved in war crimes, citing promises to protect a source’s identity.
A psychiatrist has reached a confidential settlement with Harper Collins in his defamation case over a book about the controversial deep sleep therapy at the Chelmsford Private Hospital in the 1970s.
Former Army major Heston Russell has panned the ABC’s argument that it is not liable to pay damages in his defamation case because he identified himself and was given an opportunity to respond to stories that suggested he was involved in murdering an Afghan prisoner.
A recent decision by the Federal Court that questioned whether the introduction of a serious harm test in defamation law could infringe the Judiciary Act has shone a light on the need for a federal defamation framework, legal experts say.
The ABC has dropped its truth defence to former Army major Heston Russell’s claims that he was defamed by two articles that suggested that he was involved in murdering an Afghan prisoner.
Leading defamation lawyer Patrick George has joined Company (Giles), reuniting with former protégé Rebekah Giles after leaving the law firm he founded 17 years ago.
The High Court has declined HarperCollins’ special leave application seeking to appeal a decision that revived a psychiatrist’s defamation case over a book about the controversial deep sleep therapy at the Chelmsford Private Hospital in the 1970s.
A judge has found that the ABC defamed ex-commando Heston Russell by implying he was involved in murdering an Afghan prisoner, but he rejected claims that the broadcaster’s coverage implied he was actively responsible as the shooter.
From the ongoing saga of the high-profile Christian Porter action against the ABC to “backyard” litigation testing the serious harm bar, defamation cases made headlines in 2022, with winners and losers alike shelling out millions to lawyers to protect their reputations.
A psychiatrist that sued HarperCollins for defamation over a book on the use of deep sleep therapy at the Chelmsford Private Hospital in the 1970s has lost his bid to disallow the publisher’s claim that any damage he suffered was mitigated by his bad reputation.