Mick Gatto loses defamation appeal over report he threatened to kill Lawyer X

Notorious Melbourne underworld figure Mick Gatto has lost an appeal in his failed defamation case against the ABC over a report which alleged he threatened to kill Nicola Gobbo.

Melbourne underworld figure Mick Gatto has lost an appeal in his failed defamation case against the ABC over a report he allegedly threatened to kill Lawyer X, Nicola Gobbo.

Mr Gatto appealed his failed lawsuit in the Victorian Court of Appeal, arguing a judge was mistaken when they threw out his defamation case against the public broadcaster last year.

But on Wednesday, Court of Appeal judges David Beach, Kristen Walker and Cameron Macaulay dismissed the bid, stating they were “not persuaded” that the original judgment was made in error.

Mr Gatto sued the ABC over a 2019 article which, he argued, falsely implied he had threatened to kill lawyer turned police snitch Ms Gobbo.

Lawyer X Nicola Gobbo. Picture: ABC

Mick Gatto sued the ABC over a 2019 article. Picture: Getty Images

He argued the article was “sensationalised” and the reader was less likely to take “analytical care” in comprehending its content.

He also claimed the article “treat(ed) as a fact that threats had been made” and went “beyond a meaning” that there were reasonable grounds to suspect Mr Gatto threatened to kill Ms Gobbo.

This implied he was a hit-man, murderer and was one of Australia’s most violent criminals, Mr Gatto claimed.

In dismissing the appeal, the judges found there was nothing in the article to suggest the assertions made were “well-founded”.

“Reading the article as a whole, we are not persuaded that the judge erred in failing to find that imputations … were conveyed by it,” they said.

The original judgment found the article was accurate and based on court proceedings, with allegations against Mr Gatto attributed to witnesses.