Macpherson Kelley to represent Australia’s biggest media organisations in fight against “spiralling defamation payouts”
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Source: The Australian
Rival free-to-air television networks Nine and Seven, newspaper publishers Fairfax Media and News Corp and radio broadcaster Macquarie Media have joined forces with the ABC in the Victorian Supreme Court’s Court of Appeal to fight against actor Rebel Wilson’s highest-ever defamation payout of more than $4.5 million. The media organisations believe the historic payout “has serious implications for freedom of speech in Australia.”
Principal Lawyer Justin Quill said in affidavit due to be filed with the appeal court today that the Rebel Wilson decision threatened to “disturb the balance between, on the one hand, avoiding unwarranted restrictions on freedom of expression, and, on the other, the provision of effective and fair remedies for persons whose reputations are harmed”.
“The decision has been relied on in an attempt to procure larger settlements on the basis that claims involving aggravated damages are now effectively ‘at large’ and are no longer constrained by the statutory cap,” the affidavit said.
Wilson’s appeal is listed for April 18 2018.
For the full article, click here (paywall).
The information contained in this article is general in nature and cannot be relied on as legal advice nor does it create an engagement. Please contact one of our lawyers listed above for advice about your specific situation.
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Macpherson Kelley to represent Australia’s biggest media organisations in fight against “spiralling defamation payouts”
Source: The Australian
Rival free-to-air television networks Nine and Seven, newspaper publishers Fairfax Media and News Corp and radio broadcaster Macquarie Media have joined forces with the ABC in the Victorian Supreme Court’s Court of Appeal to fight against actor Rebel Wilson’s highest-ever defamation payout of more than $4.5 million. The media organisations believe the historic payout “has serious implications for freedom of speech in Australia.”
Principal Lawyer Justin Quill said in affidavit due to be filed with the appeal court today that the Rebel Wilson decision threatened to “disturb the balance between, on the one hand, avoiding unwarranted restrictions on freedom of expression, and, on the other, the provision of effective and fair remedies for persons whose reputations are harmed”.
“The decision has been relied on in an attempt to procure larger settlements on the basis that claims involving aggravated damages are now effectively ‘at large’ and are no longer constrained by the statutory cap,” the affidavit said.
Wilson’s appeal is listed for April 18 2018.
For the full article, click here (paywall).