Login
Roberts-Smith ordered to pay costs for failed defamation trial
Disgraced SAS soldier Ben Roberts-Smith has been ordered to pay the media the costs from Australia’s biggest defamation trial.
Naomi Neilson
Justice Anthony Besanko of the Federal Court ordered Mr Roberts-Smith to pay the defence costs of Fairfax Media, The Age Company, and the Federal Capital Press of Australia on an indemnity basis.
The costs had reportedly reached $25 million.
Mr Roberts-Smith already accepted he should be liable to pay millions of dollars accrued in the proceedings from 18 March 2020, the date he rejected an offer to settle the matter.
However, he argued against paying costs prior to that date.
Nicholas Owens SC, counsel for the newspapers and journalists, previously submitted to Justice Besanko that Mr Roberts-Smith should be on the hook for the entirety of the costs because the defamation trial should not have been brought in the first place.
Mr Owens said that had Mr Roberts-Smith given a positive account of his actions, there would not have been a need for the lengthy trial.
“He was the moving party to the litigation … he was the person who brought this whole thing into existence,” Mr Owens said.
Speaking to Lawyers Weekly after Justice Besanko found the media companies did not defame Mr Roberts-Smith, MinterEllison partner Peter Bartlett said it was the “biggest” defamation trial he had seen.
“I’ve thought about this case a million times since, and even with the benefit of hindsight, I don’t believe we could have done more. I don’t believe we left a stone unturned. This was a huge, comprehensive, well-organised defence of a defamation case,” Mr Bartlett said.
Mr Roberts-Smith has flagged his intention to appeal Justice Besanko’s findings.
Naomi Neilson
Naomi Neilson is a senior journalist with a focus on court reporting for Lawyers Weekly.
You can email Naomi at:
