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Channel Ten has been ordered to publish a clarification more prominently, and to pay indemnity legal costs, after the network was found to have acted in bad faith.
In November 2018, Channel Ten show “The Project” aired a story titled, “Report into the suspicious death of Australian man Jack Chapman”, which showed an account of the relationship between Dylan Hafertepen and his late partner, Jack Chapman. Last year, Mr Hafertepen commenced defamation proceedings against the network, alleging that its news show had imputed, among other things, that he was responsible for Mr Chapman’s death.
However, the firm noted in a statement, Mr Hafertepen subsequently filed an interlocutory application, alleging that Channel Ten had failed to properly comply with the terms of the settlement, in particular in relation to its posting of the clarification on the 10play website.
“Channel Ten posted the clarification at the very bottom of the Terms of Use page which meant that, according to Mr Hafertepen, it was extremely unlikely, if not impossible, for it to come to the attention of any viewers of the original story on ‘The Project’,” the Sydney-based firm explained.
“Mr Hafertepen argued that Channel Ten had acted in bad faith by choosing this particular web page to publish the clarification, with the intention being to deliberately bury the clarification.”
Throughout the proceedings, Atkinson Vinden said, Network Ten denied that it had acted in bad faith.
In a ruling handed down earlier on Monday, Justice Anna Katzmann of the Federal Court said that the network had published the agreed clarification in an obscure location, “in a manner that was calculated to frustrate or undermine its purpose”, and in so doing, “Ten breached the Agreement”.
Atkinson Vinden Lawyers senior solicitor Sally Webber, who acted for Mr Hafertepen, said that the verdict was “the best possible outcome” for her client, who she said had suffered significant reputational harm since the program aired.
“This is the best outcome for Mr Hafertepen, now he can move forward and focus on repairing the damage to his reputation here in Australia and internationally as a result of the broadcast on ‘The Project’,” she said.
Atkinson Vinden briefed barrister Sue Chrysanthou to represent Mr Hafertepen in court.
Jerome Doraisamy is the managing editor of Lawyers Weekly and HR Leader. He is also the author of The Wellness Doctrines book series, an admitted solicitor in New South Wales, and a board director of the Minds Count Foundation.
You can email Jerome at:
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Jerome Doraisamy
