Warren Tredrea claims up to $5.77m in damages for ‘unlawful’ dismissal from Channel 9
Warren Tredrea claims he should be paid up to $5.7m in “lost opportunities” after being fired from Channel 9 for refusing to be vaccinated, court documents reveal.
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Dismissed sports presenter and former footballer Warren Tredrea is claiming he should be paid up to $5,775,000 for the missed opportunity of 30 years more work with his employer.
But in court on Wednesday, as Tredrea’s lawyers and those for Channel 9 appeared for the first time, it was revealed mediation would take place and a trial may be avoided.
If the trial were to go ahead, it could take as long as seven days, and would see top Covid scientists battle it out over whether Covid vaccines were effective.
Tredrea, who is described in court documents as “famous”, was dismissed from his $192,500 a year job with Channel 9 in January this year after refusing a direction to be vaccinated if he wanted to come to work.
Documents released by the Federal Court show Tredrea is claiming he was unlawfully dismissed from his position and should be paid out the remaining $176,458 of his contract and up to 30 years of pay for the missed opportunity of employment – at least $5.775m.
Tredrea’s lawyer, Simon Ower KC, also represented former Adelaide Crows AFLW player Deni Varnhagen in her long-running vaccine mandate challenge, which was thrown out of court in September.
Ower told the Federal Court Justice Patrick O’Sullivan there would “at some point” be mediation between the parties, but requested a timeline ahead of the trial.
He told the court the most significant evidence in any trial, in support of Tredrea, would come in the way of the expert evidence of top Covid scientists.
“A contest between scientific experts … may be the most lengthy feature of the trial,” Mr Ower said.
In the court documents, Tredrea’s legal team claim there was no evidence the vaccines worked against the delta and omicron strains of the virus and also question the safety of the vaccines themselves.
They claim that other measures, such as social distancing and improved hygiene would have kept the office as safe as vaccinations.
But Brendon Roberts KC, for Channel 9, told the court 9’s case – despite calling on their own scientists – would say their evidence mattered little given the Covid restrictions that were put in place by the Australian Government.
“The question as to whether the particular virologists might hold different views really isn’t (relevant) to the question of whether it was reasonable to act on the prevailing health views,” he said.
Tredrea’s dismissal followed a formal direction from the company on October 15, 2021 that in order to be onsite, employees had to show they were vaccinated against Covid-19.
The time limit for Tredrea to comply with direction was extended to January 4, 2022.
The statement of claim released by the court shows Tredrea did not comply with the direction and was fired on that day by letter from Jeremy Pudney, the news director of 9 Adelaide.
Newly released documents show that Tredrea was threatening legal action within days of his dismissal with letters flying between his solicitor and the company between January and March this year.
On April 29, 2022 the parties met for a “pre-action meeting” ahead of the lodging of the lawsuit.
Pre-action meetings are mandatory before a case can be lodged with the Federal Court in a bid to keep the number of easily settled lawsuits from taking up court time.
Tredrea is claiming damages of breach of contract or, as an alternative, compensation as an independent contractor for loss of the remainder of his contract.
The statement of claim gives a lengthy recounting of Tredrea’s football and media career highlights, describing him as “hardworking, diligent and professional” as well as a “well-known, popular and respected” media personality.
Tredrea and Channel 9 will return to court in February.
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Originally published as Warren Tredrea claims up to $5.77m in damages for ‘unlawful’ dismissal from Channel 9
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