Moira Deeming’s legal thunderbolt: threat to sue three ex-premiers over $2.3m John Pesutto bill

Three former Victorian premiers are among those targeted in fresh legal action by Moira Deeming over a $2.3m legal bill.

Liberal MP Moira Deeming. Picture: Arsineh Houspian

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Moira Deeming has launched legal action to potentially sue some of the biggest names in the Victorian Liberal Party, including former premiers Jeff Kennett, Ted Baillieu and Denis Napthine, in a bid to recoup $2.3m in court costs against former opposition leader John Pesutto.

In an extraordinary letter that dramatically deepens the crisis engulfing the party in the wake of Mr Pesutto’s emphatic defamation defeat, Mrs Deeming’s lawyers have signalled new legal action against nine Liberal figures.

In the letter, dated May 21, Mrs Deeming’s lawyer, Giles/George principal Patrick George, warns Mr Pesutto’s lawyers the firm is preparing a legal barrage against those who helped fund Mr Pesutto’s failed defence if he cannot pay the $2.3m bill by Friday.

The six-page letter states: “We make the following observations about these donors: Ted Baillieu is a former Liberal Party premier of Victoria and former state member of parliament for the Liberal Party. Mr Baillieu joined with former Liberal Party premiers of Victoria, Mr Jeff Kennett and Mr Denis Napthine, to announce publicly that they were contributing funds to Mr Pesutto’s defence.

“There was no disclosure by Mr Pesutto in the 2025 parliamentary return of gifts by Mr Kennett or Mr Napthine, leading to the conclusion that they contributed less than $600 each. We seek your confirmation of the amounts they contributed. We request that the records above (to be retained) include Mr Pesutto’s records with Mr Kennett and Mr Napthine.”

Mrs Deeming sued Mr Pesutto in the Federal Court over allegations that he falsely portrayed her as a Nazi sympathiser after she helped organise and attended a Let Women Speak rally that was gatecrashed by neo-Nazis.

Speaking on Wednesday, Mr Pesutto said he is doing everything he possibly can to raise the $2.3m in legal costs he owes Mrs Deeming.

Mr Pesutto continued to decline to comment about the legal threat to Liberal figures, but said he was “trying his hardest” to pay the costs. “I’ve got a challenge I’m trying to meet,” he said. “I want to do everything I possibly can to raise the money I owe Mrs Deeming.”

Mr Pesutto said he “very much appreciated” his donors’ support. “I gratefully appreciate all the help I’ve received,” he said.

Asked if he would be able to pay his bills by Friday’s deadline, Mr Pesutto said: “I hope so. There’s a bit more time than that, but I do want to resolve this as quickly as I can. I understand the gravity of it, and I do want to meet the debt that I owe Mrs Deeming and discharge that as quickly as I can.”

The broadening of Mrs Deeming’s legal action to include the former premiers and other party figures threatens to reignite a toxic bonfire that has engulfed the Liberal party room over the past two years.

After being ousted at the height of the controversy, Mrs Deeming was allowed to re-enter the party room after Mr Pesutto was forced out and replaced as ­opposition leader by Brad Battin.

Some in the party fear Mrs Deeming’s fresh legal action against her own party elders risks inflaming internal tensions.

“This could blow the party up,” one Liberal told The Australian.

Former Victorian Liberal premiers Denis Napthine, left, Ted Baillieu and Jeff Kennett. Picture: David Caird

But in a statement to The Australian on Tuesday, Mrs Deeming said she had not released the letter publicly and defended her right to take the action. “My lawyers ­ensured that when Mr Grugeon (NSW businessman Hilton ­Grugeon) generously agreed to loan me millions of dollars to ­defend myself against the campaign to destroy my life, he was fully aware of the fact that he could be held liable to pay for mine and Pesutto’s costs if I lost and went bankrupt, so I have no doubt that Mr Pesutto, being a lawyer himself, ensured that his financiers were aware of that same risk prior to accepting their support,” she said.

When contacted by The Australian on Tuesday, Mr Pesutto declined to comment.

Mrs Deeming’s legal letter widening her action draws on her camp’s opinion there is a ­precedent to potentially wrap in figures who funded Mr Pesutto’s defence based on the Ben Roberts-Smith case, in which billionaire Kerry Stokes was ­liable for costs.

The May 21 letter states “Mr Pesutto does not appear to have any assets (or sufficient assets) to pay his debts and liabilities”, ­before signalling a potential broadening of legal actions against the three ex-premiers and other Liberal figures. In these circumstances, and where it is evident that Mr Pesutto is insolvent … we are instructed to seek orders in the proceedings against third parties for payment of Mrs Deeming’s costs.”

Mrs Deeming, who was ousted from the party during the height of the controversy, won the defamation case and Mr Pesutto was ordered to pay her $300,000 in damages. The court later ruled he was liable for Mrs Deeming’s legal costs of $2.3m, and the May 21 letter ­estimates his overall legal bill, taking into account his own costs, could be $5m.

The legal letter flags Mrs Deeming is considering seeking “non-party costs orders” against the former premiers because they and the others named in the letter have “sufficient connection” to Mr Pesutto and the ­proceedings.

“Each of the above persons has, or may have, subject to further information required by ­notices to produce or subpoenas, a ‘sufficient connection’ with Mr Pesutto and the proceedings to enable the court to make non-party costs orders against them for the amount of the assessment made against Mr Pesutto, ­particularly in view of Mr Pesutto’s financial incapacity,” the letter states.

Former Victorian Liberal leader John Pesutto. Picture: NewsWire / Ian Currie

“He is and was throughout the proceedings a man of straw. The donors had an interest in the proceedings, whether financial or otherwise, and, our client ­believes, took an active part in the conduct of the proceedings.”

Among Liberals named in ­addition to the three former Liberal premiers are current frontbenchers David Southwick and Georgie Crozier and former Liberal MP Margaret Fitzherbert.

A number of other individuals are also named as potential targets including Xavier Boffa, Jason Yeap and a company called Gillelosa Pty Ltd.

Mrs Deeming’s lawyers state they have applied to the Federal Court for leave to issue sub­poenas to obtain communications between Mr Pesutto and his “funders” and the “communications relating to the conduct of the defence of the proceedings”.

“Without those gifts, Mr Pesutto would not have been able to defend the proceedings or ­continue with his defence of the proceedings, particularly in the exhaustive manner he did,” the letter states.

“It is clear that those contributions to his defence costs caused our client to incur significant costs in requiring her to ­proceed with the claim against him all the way to judgment and in doing so, defeating each of his misconceived defences.

“Had he agreed to accept Mrs Deeming’s offer to compromise in February 2024, he would not have been ordered to pay her indemnity costs for most of the proceedings, an order to which he had no alternative but to ­consent to and did so in December 2024.”

The May 21 letter states that unless Mr Pesutto pays the $2.3m legal costs by Friday, Mrs Deeming’s lawyers will serve a bankruptcy notice on the Hawthorn MP, which would force him from parliament and trigger a by-election.

Mr Pesutto’s electorate sits within the teal-held federal seat of Kooyong and would present Mr Battin with a major challenge to hold the seat. At the May 3 federal election, booths in the Hawthorn region of Kooyong tended to vote strongly in favour of teal MP Dr Monique Ryan.

And at the 2018 election, Hawthorn voters ousted Mr Pesutto in favour of a Labor candidate so Liberals are anxious about the party’s chances at a by-election triggered by such an ­internal feud.