Defamation trial between warring exes on hold due to Covid-19
A man suing his ex for defamation over allegations he is a dangerous sex addict has been hit by a Covid-19 holdup, a court has been told.
A trial being two warring exes will resume in May next year, almost a year after it originally began.
Constantine Arvanitis is suing his ex-partner Selina Holder for defamation after she shared a document with two of his other ex-girlfriends alleging he was a violent sex and drug addict who once broke her foot in an argument, a court has been told.
In a directions hearing in the County Court of Victoria on Friday, lawyers agreed to postpone the trial, which was paused due to Covid-19 restrictions, even further until May 9 next year.
“That give us more time for borders to open – although it is a long time away,” Judge Julie Clayton said.
“If we get to next year and we aren’t able to resume an in-person trial … then we will have to think really carefully about if we can continue to adjourn this case.”
Mr Arvanitis has previously said the document Ms Holder wrote was shared with his fiancee’s sister, fracturing his relationship with his fiancee’s family.
A court has been told a line-up of his former flames are set to give evidence in support of Ms Holder’s claims, including a woman who alleges Mr Arvanitis took advantage of her for sex while she was relapsing after they met through Narcotics Anonymous.
Five exes including Ms Holder and the Narcotics Anonymous woman have put their hands up to give evidence, along with Mr Arvanitis’ fiancee Melanie Thornton who is set to speak in his support.
Ms Holder is defending her allegations by arguing to the judge everything she said in the document was true.
She denies sending a separate letter to his current fiancee that has also resulted in defamation claims.
Ms Holder and her lawyer, Barrie Goldsmith, are based in Sydney and their ability to attend an in-person trial could be impacted by border rules, the court was told on Friday.
The trial began on May 17 this year.