Ben Roberts-Smith told his former wife he would sue her and seek to overturn a property settlement if she disclosed to lawyers acting against him in a defamation case any information she had agreed to keep confidential, the Federal Court has heard.andowned by Nine Entertainment Co, over a series of stories published in 2018, which he says are defamatory because they portray him as a war criminal. He vigorously denies wrongdoing.
At a preliminary hearing in the Federal Court on Thursday, barrister Nicholas Owens, SC, for the media outlets, alleged Mr Roberts-Smith told his former wife, Emma, in a letter in April that if she spoke to lawyers for theabout potential evidence she might give in the case he would seek an injunction, attempt to sue her and take steps to undo a property settlement between them.
“We’re simply not in a position to do so,” Mr McClintock said, alluding to court orders relating to the agreement. Mr McClintock said that if Ms Roberts did give evidence he would have to cross-examine her in court, and suggested the media outlets should “re-think what they’re doing” because “sometimes you can pay too high a price” involving family members in proceedings.
Mr Owens said this was an “egregious submission”. He foreshadowed that evidence given by Ms Roberts would be along the lines of the alleged intimidation of witnesses, attempts to communicate covertly with witnesses and the alleged concealment of material.As part of their defence, the news outlets are seeking to include evidence from Ms Roberts, one of her friends, and a man who claims the former soldier attempted to intimidate a witness in an investigation into alleged war crimes.
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