Nine admits its Andrew Laming upskirt story untrue
Nine admits the central claim of a TV news report about a federal MP is untrue, leaving the media company potentially liable for a massive damages payout.
Nine has admitted the central claim of a television news report about a federal MP – which earned the network a Walkley Award – is untrue, leaving the media company potentially liable for a massive damages payout.
On March 27 last year, Nine aired a segment on its nightly news bulletin in which then federal MP Andrew Laming was accused of committing the criminal offence of taking an inappropriate “upskirting” photo of a Brisbane store worker, Crystal White, without her consent.
Dr Laming was never charged over the incident, and repeatedly requested Nine apologise to him for the erroneous claim that he upskirted Ms White. He also asked for the story to be removed from the network’s digital platforms. Nine refused to comply.
The former politician subsequently launched defamation proceedings against Nine last August, seeking general damages, aggravated damages and special damages, as well as legal costs that will run into the hundreds of thousands of dollars.
Given the imputations carried in the news report suggested serious criminal behaviour, any damages payout awarded to Dr Laming would likely be a six-figure sum.
For the past 12 months, Nine has defended the truth of the news report but last Thursday the network quietly amended its defence in the Federal Court, six weeks before the matter was to go to trial.
The amended documents withdrew most of the news report’s central claims, most notably that Dr Laming had taken a lewd photograph of Ms White.
The lodged documents also include an admission that the news report had conveyed some defamatory imputations of Dr Laming and he was “entitled to damages”.
Nine has entirely withdrawn its “truth” defence in relation to the “upskirting” claim, as well as its defences of “qualified privilege” and “honest opinion”.
In February, Nine journalists Peter Fegan and Rebeka Powell won a Walkley Award in the television/video news reporting category for their submitted work titled “The Investigation of Andrew Laming”, despite the defamation action being before the courts at the time.
Walkley Foundation chief executive Shona Martyn said the journalism awards body “is aware this matter is before the courts and will monitor the situation”.
Nine declined to comment on Wednesday.
In launching defamation proceedings last year, Dr Laming’s lawyers claimed: “By reason of publication by Nine Network and TCN 9 of the Nine news report, and the republications of it and the substantial grapevine effect, Laming has been gravely injured in his character and reputation, and has suffered substantial hurt, distress and embarrassment and has and will continue to suffer loss and damage.”
The claim outlined various aggravating factors of Dr Laming’s “hurt”, including Nine’s characterisation of Ms White as his “victim … The respondents knew and intended that the allegations in the Nine news report would irrevocably damage Laming’s personal and professional reputation.”
The parties have been ordered to attend a mediation hearing in the Federal Court on Friday.
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