[Hague-jur-commercial-law] Australia defamation: Who sued who and who got what

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http://pandora.nla.gov.au/parchive/2001/S2001-Mar-15/www.crikey.com.au/Media/defamation.html

 Who sued who and who got what 

March 14, 2001
By Stephen Mayne
Two-time defo defendent
   

 Media  
Given that Crikey and Stephen Mayne personally are fighting two
defamation cases at the moment, we thought it was an appropriate time to
build up a register of defamation battles over the years. 
If you know of any other memorable cases that should be on the register
then please send them in. Also, let us know of any errors in the
register. 

Australia has eight difference sets of defamation laws and no
constitutional right to free speech as the Americans enjoy. Free Speech
Victoria is currently embarking on a campaign for defamation law reform
but for some reason the issue is rarely debated in any detail in the
public arena. Maybe everyone is too scared of getting sued. 

Subscribers can look at the various other lists we have built up over
the past year by searching through the archive at members.crikey.com.au. 

Crikey's register of defamation battles 

Tony Abbott: successfully sued over Bob Ellis's Goodbye Jerusalem which
suggested he and Peter Costello had slept with each other's wives. 

Sir Peter Abeles: Notorious for issuing various stopper writs against
critics in the 1970s and 80s. 

Piers Akerman: Rupert Murdoch's best friend in Australia sued Fairfax
over various articles during his disastrous stewardship of the Herald
Sun in the early 90s. He has emailed to point out that nothing ever got
to court. 

Col Allan: The Daily Telegraph's editor settled "to my satisfaction" a
defamation case against Austereo's Andrew Denton who suggested a crime
story was only on the front page because the accused was Korean. 

Chris Anderson: The Optus CEO and former journalist sued The
Australian's columnist Mark Westfield in the ACT Supreme Court in 1999.
The Oz settled with a grovelling apology without telling Westfield. 

Tony Bell: The CEO of 3AW's parent Southern Cross Broadcasting is suing
Derryn Hinch for comments on 3AK suggesting they have exercised too much
power in the Melbourne talk radio market. 

Joh Bjelke-Petersen: sued the ABC over allegations of corruption and
rorts in his government. Sued Channel Nine and collected a $400,000
settlement which the dodgy entrepreneur said was to help him do business
in Queensland. He also sued then opposition leader Tom Burns on numerous
occasions and always used Ebsworths for his various other defo writs. 

Neil Blewett: The former Labor Health Minister successfully sued when a
magazine said he was gay. Years later he came out and now lives with his
gay lover in the Blue Mountains. Will he pay back the money? 

Peter Blunden: The Herald Sun editor took out a Supreme Court writ
against ABC Radio's Jon Faine in 1999 but it was quickly withdrawn. 

Alan Bond: Successfully sued the Sydney Morning Herald in the 1980s,
setting back investigative pieces on him for many years until Paul Barry
and Four Corners came along. 

George Buschman: John Singleton's 2GB chief executive is suing sacked
Drive Time presenter Mike Jeffreys for daring to criticise him publicly
about a $530,000 unfair dismissal claim against the station. 

Jim Byrnes: Alan Bond's bankruptcy mate is currently suing the Sydney
Morning Herald over a Kate Askew article column item in CBD. 

Jim Cairns (Treasurer in the Fraser government) and Junie Morosi (his
personal secretary and assistant) sued The National Times over an
article alleging they were each involved in an improper sexual
relationship. 

Arthur Calwell (leader of the ALP in the 1960s) sued The Sunday Review
over an article that Calwell was really a traditional conservative
conducting a rearguard action against progressive socialist policies
favoured by Whitlam. 

Richard Carlton: The head-kicking 60 Minutes Reporter is suing Media
Watch over claims made last year that he pinched some footage. 

Jim Carey: Currently suing PMP over an article in one of their Aussie
trash sheets. 

Mr Carson: This legal partner at Allen Allen & Hemsley collected
$500,000 in a settlement plus $310,000 in costs after a long battle
against SMH editorial writer John Slee. The court had ordered $1.3
million in damages for claims the article suggested Carson engaged in
professional misconduct and a criminal conspiracy. 

Rodney Cavalier: The Moree Champion paid out $150,000 to the former NSW
Labor Minister in 1989 for suggesting he committed sexual offences on
children. 

Evonne Cawley/Goolagong sued The Bulletin over a letter to the editor. 

Greg Chappell sued A Current Affair over threatening to repeat
allegations in The Truth that he was having an affair and engaging in
unusual sexual intercourse. 

Anne Charleston and Ian Smith (who played Madge and Harold Bishop in
Neighbours) sued The News of the World in the UK after it published a
photo of a naked couple apparently engaged in sodomy, with the actors'
faces pasted onto it. 

John Coates: A chap called Dempster criticised the Olympics supremo
twice in 1983 to two separate people suggesting he was unfit to be an
Olympic rowing official because he gave priority to personal interest
and ambition. The first publication was worth $58,000 and the second
$62,000, then Coates got $35,173 in interest on top. 

Peter Collins: The NSW Liberal lightweight sued a southern NSW doctor
for comments when he was Health Minister. 

Laurie Connell: Dodgiest merchant banker in history. Issued about 300
defo writs against various journalists but all failed becaues he was a
crook who went broke. 

Peter Costello: Successfully sued over Bob Ellis's Goodbye Jerusalem. 

Tanya Costello: Successfully sued over Bob Ellis's Goodbye Jerusalem. 

John dela Bosca: Labor's Special Minister of State in NSW received about
$20,000 recently after suing that wild paedophilia conspiracist Franca
Arena. 

Frank de Stefano: the jailed former Geelong mayor who defrauded $8
million sued some critics of Barwon Water and won a $10,000 settlement
for some bumper stickers. 

Jason Donovon: Sued London's The Face magazine for suggesting he was
gay. 

John Elliott: sued the ABC and former Victorian Labor Minister Steve
Crabb over claims the NCA was investigating him shortly before the 1990
federal election. 

Andrew Ettinghausen: The rugby league player sued Packer's magazine HQ
for imputing he'd deliberately permitted a photograph to be taken of his
genitals. Was awarded $350,000 at first then reduced to $100,000 on
appeal. 

Syd Fischer: The yachtsman and Sydney hotel owner got $200,000 in 1987
against Fairfax for suggesting he was incompetent and dishonourable
regarding aspects of the America's Cup challenge. 

Kel Glare: former Victorian Police Commissioner Kel Glare successfully
sued Piers Akerman's Herald Sun in the early 1990s. 

John Gorton (former Prime Minister) sued the ABC over a This Day Tonight
interview by Richard Carleton in which it was implied that Gorton had
instructed Malcolm Fraser to issue a false denial of a story which he
knew to be true. 

Bill Gurry: The highly respected Melbourne investment banker sued former
Victorian Treasurer Alan Stockdale when he incorrectly alleged Gurry was
mates with John Cain and should not serve on the Tricontinental Royal
Commission. 

Joe Gutnick: Is currently suing the US Magazine Barons in the Victorian
Supreme Court over an article suggesting he had links with convicted tax
scheme merchant Nachum Goldberg. 

Bob Hawke: Has sued most outlets over the years and received truckloads
in payouts which built various pools, tennis courts and new wings in his
homes. 

Alan Jones: Very litigious over the years and currently running various
actions against The Sydney Morning Herald. 

Jeff Kennett: Issued dozens of writs including against The Age, The
Australian and Packer's Nine Network which yielded a $400,000
settlement. 

David Lange: The former NZ prime Minister sued the ABC which led to a
slight watering down of the political comment precedent established in
Theophanous. 

John Laws: the 2UE cash for commenter collected $210,000 from Fairfax
from a jury in 1983 which agreed the article suggested that he
fraudulently benefited from land deals. 

Solomon Lew: Sued the Herald Sun over a front page article detailing an
alleged inside job where someone broke into the so-called "Yannon room"
at ASIC. Settled with nominal payout after a couple of years. 

Clive Lloyd: The former West Indian captain collected $100,000 from The
Age in 1984 after a stringer wrote a column under the headline "C'mon
Dollar C'mon" suggesting World Series Cricket games were fixed. All his
team mates lined up for big settlement after the jury decision was
upheld by the Privy Council in London. 

John Marsden: former head of the NSW Bar Association is suing Seven over
a Witness report about alleged encounters with teenage boys. 

Demi Moore and Bruce Willis sued New Idea over allegations of trouble in
their relationship. The matter promptly settled with an apology. 

Chris Murphy: The Sydney criminal lawyer turned stockmarket punter is
suing The Daily Telegraph over a gossip column item carrying Stephen
Mayne's by-line that compared him with his namesake who owns 2SM and
used to manage INXS. 

Eddie Obeid: The NSW Labor Minister has sued various partners and
critics for defamation and other things over the years. 

Kerry Packer: Sued truckloads of people over the years and is currently
running actions against Four Corners and Fairfax. 

David Parker: The former NRMA director collected $135,000 from 2UE in
1983 when they suggested he was a disastrously unsuitable candidate for
election to the board. 

Charles Perkins: Successfully sued the Aboriginal Land Council for
almost $1 million after they suggested he had tried to destroy them. 

Steve Price: Suing Crikey and Stephen Mayne personally over a press
release by Raymond Hoser that was read by less than 200 people and
downloaded by 340 different people. 

Brian Quinn: The disgraced former Coles Myer boss sued The Age over a
Katherine Teh article that suggested he sold some shares shortly before
announcing a big profit slump at the 1991 AGM. The slump was announced a
few weeks earlier at the profit result so Quinn got a big payout that
helped pay for his renovations. 

Gina Rinehart: permanently in legal battles with Rose Hancock including
a variety of defamation claims. 

Rene Rivkin: The colorful Sydney stockbroker is suing the Sydney Morning
Herald and the Fin Review over the Christmas Eve fire and $50 million
insurance claim involving Offset Alpine and the death of the girlfriend
of Rivkin's former driver Gordon Woods. The case starts in April. 

Roger Rogerson: The corrupt NSW detective got $30,000 out of Channel
Nine after suing over the famous Sally-anne Huckstep interview on 60
Minutes when she accused him of murdering her drug dealing boyfriend
Warren Lafranchi. 

Ian Smith (former Victorian Minister for Finance) sued Cheryl Harris (a
staffer who became pregnant to him) and Slater & Gordon over a wide
range of allegations, including allegations by Harris that Smith had
bashed her and tried to force her to have an abortion. 

Marie Tehan: The former Victorian Health Minister sued The Age when the
Kennett forces were trying to maximise the pressure on then editor Bruce
Guthrie. The flurry of writs worked as Guthrie was soon sacked. 

Andrew Theophanous: Sued the Herald Sun over a Bruce Ruxton which became
the basis of the political comment defence when Murdoch won in the High
Court. 

Tom Uren, a senior member of the ALP in the 1960s and 1970s, sued the
Sun-Herald over allegations he was duped into assisting Soviet spies in
the early 1960s. 

Ron Walker: Has sued various people over the years including the head of
the Historic Buildings Council and journalists such as Julianne Davies
on The Age. 

The Waterhouse family (Bill, Robbie and Gai) have variously sued the
ABC, 2GB and The Sunday Herald Sun. 

Kathy Watt sued The Herald Sun and The Advertiser over allegations that
she deliberately shafted Lucy Tyler-Sharman for a place in the 1996
Australian Olympics team. 

Tony Webster: Owner of Webster Publishing is suing Stephen Mayne, David
Ireland and Crikey Media over an article downloaded 178 times.
Infosentials bought the business but has since gone broke with creditors
likely to lose about $7 million. 

Lloyd Williams: Another regular litigant who sued Melbourne University
Architecture academic Miles Lewis, former Labor Minister David White,
The Age and various other parties. 

Neville Wran: Sued the ABC in the early 80s over allegations he
attempted to interfere with the natural course of justice.