Defamation Verdict Sends Warning to High-Profile Litigants

Bruce Lehrmann’s spectacular defamation defeat will make high-profile litigants think twice before rushing to court to redeem their reputations, leading defamation lawyers and academics say.The verdict is the second within a year to chip away at Australia’s reputation as the world’s defamation capital, after Ben Roberts-Smith emerged from his own libel claim tarred as a war criminal and murderer.

“It’s another example of public figures who find themselves in the press for all the wrong reasons thinking that going to court to get a defamation judgment will be a good idea,” she said. Gadens partner Marina Olsen said the Lehrmann case was the latest in a series of “spectacular own goals” by litigants.Even if Mr Lehrmann had succeeded, Justice Lee said the former political staffer would have only been entitled to $20,000 in damages – only a fraction of the legal fees accumulated in the trial.

“It’s very easy to issue proceedings for defamation, but it’s like grabbing a tiger by the tail – easy to grab a hold of at first, but hard to let go of without being bitten,” he said.

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