Danielle Wilson loses bid to have Matt Wright’s assets frozen in lawsuit over Willow’s death

The court heard even assuming the primary cause of the crash was a failure by pilot Sebastian Robinson to refuel the aircraft, that would not mean Mr Wright was absolved of his duty of care.

Danielle Wilson has taken legal action following the death of her husband Chris ‘Willow’ Wilson in 2022.

The widow of Netflix star Chris “Willow” Wilson has lost a bid to freeze the assets of his co-star Matt Wright as part of a lawsuit over the crash that killed him.

Danielle Wilson is suing the Civil Aviation Safety Authority and Helibrook Pty Ltd in the Federal Court following the fatality, which happened during a crocodile egg collecting expedition in 2022.

Ms Wilson is also seeking to have Mr Wright joined as a defendant with her lawyers telling the court Helibrook did not have sufficient assets to meet any payout that might eventuate.

On Friday, her barrister David Lloyd SC told the court Mr Wright should be joined to the suit as he was Helibrook’s chief pilot.

He said a “highly influential” CASA guide imposed a number of obligations which Mr Wright breached, including by “failing to ensure maintenance” and “failing to have in place appropriate safety culture”.

Mr Lloyd said even assuming the primary cause of the crash was a failure by pilot Sebastian Robinson to refuel the aircraft, that would not mean Mr Wright was absolved of his duty of care.

“That would be a good case, perhaps, against Mr Robinson for a casual act of negligence but that wouldn’t mean that there’s not a breach and material contribution, for causation purposes, by both Helibrook and Mr Wright for all of the other failures that we’ve asserted,” he said.

Mr Lloyd said the freezing order was necessary due to a risk that Mr Wright or his wife Kaia “might dispose of or diminish in value his assets” before the case was decided.

He said Mr Wright had already transferred his legal interest in his luxury Tiwi Island Retreat to a trust following Mr Wilson’s death and there was a risk he would do so with other assets.

But the Wrights’ lawyer Darryn Kelly said any transfer of assets simply represented “normal business activity”.

Netflix star Matt Wright sat at the back of the courtroom with his hands folded on his lap during Friday’s hearing. Picture: Pema Tamang Pakhrin

“For all the hundreds of pages of searches we’ve got, there is absolutely nothing to see in relation to what’s happening with (the) Wright related companies other than business as usual,” he said.

“The onus is on the applicant, in an application of this type, to come along and say there is something sinister happening.

“It’s not permissible for a claimant to simply say ‘I am worried that this might happen and the onus is on you to prove that it won’t.”

Mr Kelly also said the CASA guide “about what someone should do cannot possibly impose a legal duty of care” on Mr Wright as chief pilot.

“These are suggestions of things you should do if you’re in that position — if they want to carry with them legal significance then they’re put in legal form, either in the act or in the regulations,” he said.

In dismissing the application for a freezing order and adjourning the joinder application until April 10, Justice Elizabeth Raper said there was “very limited evidence as to there being any dissipation at all” and “nothing proximate” to Mr Wilson’s death or Ms Wilson’s lawsuit.

Originally published as Danielle Wilson loses bid to have Matt Wright’s assets frozen in lawsuit over Willow’s death