'Dismissed': legal experts explain the judgment in the Ben Roberts-Smith defamation case
Retrieved on:
Friday, June 2, 2023
Defamation, Gallantry, Whisky, Violence, Distinguished Service Cross (United States), Jealousy, Leadership, Domestic violence, Federal court, The Canberra Times, Leg, Lawyer, COVID, Medal for Gallantry, Judgement, Victoria Cross, SAS, Bullying, War, Seven West Media, Contempt, Hearing, Medal, Commendation for Distinguished Service, Special Air Service Regiment, Private investigator, Ridesharing, Tobacco, Drug
The civil trial ended in July 2022 after an astonishing 110 days of evidence and legal submissions.
Key Points:
- The civil trial ended in July 2022 after an astonishing 110 days of evidence and legal submissions.
- Besanko determined the newspapers did establish the “substantial truth” of some of the allegations, though not of others.
- Read more:
A win for the press, a big loss for Ben Roberts-Smith: what does this judgment tell us about defamation law?
Substantial and contextual truth
- Besanko also found allegations of bullying by Roberts-Smith to be substantially true, but did not find that the newspapers had established the substantial truth of the domestic violence allegations.
- The “contextual” truth changes came in a push to have uniformity in defamation laws back in 2005.
- Under the law, they needed only to show the “substantial” truth of what they had alleged.
- Because the papers were able to establish the substantial truth of key aspects of the reporting, Roberts-Smith’s case failed.
What happens next?
- The newspapers requested three weeks to consider how much to seek for costs and third-party costs.
- There’s little doubt that both sides have each spent millions on their respective legal teams.