Faruk Orman launches legal action against Nicola Gobbo over Lawyer X scandal

The first man to have his conviction quashed over the Lawyer X scandal is suing Nicola Gobbo for helping send him to jail.

Lawyer-turned-snitch Nicola Gobbo is being sued by the first man to have his conviction quashed over her role as a police informer.

Faruk Orman has lodged his civil case with the Supreme Court to sue his former barrister who informed on him from 2006 until 2009.

In documents lodged with the court it states Orman is seeking damages from Gobbo who had a duty of loyalty to him.

“As a legal practitioner acting for the Plaintiff at all relevant times the Defendant was required to exercise care and skill in the provision of legal services to the Plaintiff to promote the Plaintiff’s interests,’’ the writ states.

“Further and in addition, the Defendant owed the Plaintiff a continuing duty to safeguard and not misuse the Plaintiff’s confidential information.’’

Gobbo is residing in a foreign country after leaving Australia late last year having spent more than two years under police protection.

Nicola Gobbo informed on Faruk Orman from 2006 until 2009.

Orman, who spent 12 years in prison over the 2002 murder of underworld heavyweight Victor Peirce, had his conviction overturned by the Court of Appeal in 2019 after it was revealed Gobbo had not only been broadly informing on him as Lawyer X, but had bolstered the case against him.

He has always maintained his innocence.

Gobbo had acted as Orman’s lawyer but formally pulled out of defending him over the Bay St, Port Melbourne, ambush of Peirce before it went to trial.

Another issue the barrister faced was that she had represented the main witness against Orman, who cannot be named due to suppression orders.

Gobbo had helped police turn the gangland figure into a witness on multiple organised crime killings.

The man, known as “The European’’, remained in contact with Gobbo in the lead up to giving evidence against Orman.

Gobbo warned the anti-gangland Purana taskforce the key witness, who was a gangland killer, was considering pulling out of giving evidence causing investigators to visit him in jail.

Orman was freed after spending 12 years in jail. Picture: David Crosling

The Herald Sun has previously revealed Gobbo could be sued by former clients over breaching her fiduciary responsibilities to them.

Lawyers must be covered be indemnity insurance, which is taken out with the Legal Practitioners Liability Committee.

The body provides insurance to about 16,000 legal professionals across Australia as well as more than 2000 Victorian barristers.

Orman, who is represented by Robinson Gill Lawyers, is already suing Victoria Police over their role in recruiting Gobbo who during one of her three stints as a ``human source’’ provided more than 5000 information reports from mid-2005 until 2009.

Gobbo has also launched legal action against the force.

The Lawyer X royal commission into the saga found the scheme had impacted more than 1000 cases.

The Andrews government has established the Office of Special Investigator which is probing the conduct of police.