Nicola Gobbo launches appeal against her high-profile court loss in new Lawyer X twist
There is a major update in the Lawyer X scandal after a judge threw out Nicola Gobbo’s $1 million claim for compensation.
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Nicola Gobbo – Lawyer X – has launched an appeal against her high-profile court loss after a judge threw out the former barrister turned police informer’s compensation claim.
It comes after Gobbo last month lost her bid for a $1m payout from Victoria Police and the Victorian government over alleged damages she suffered during her secret life as “informer 3838”.
In her ruling, Supreme Court Justice Melinda Richards said Gobbo knew the risks that came with becoming a police informer.
Justice Richards ruled that Gobbo had broken the law by snitching on her own clients and ordered the disgraced lawyer to pay the state’s costs.
Justice Richards said while police officers such as former chief commissioner Simon Overland knew using her as an informer placed her life at risk, officers did not breach their duty of care to Gobbo because the associated risks were “obvious”.
But Gobbo’s appeal, filed on Friday afternoon in the Court of Appeal, argued that the law of duty of care had been misapplied.
Gobbo had initially argued “negligence” and “malfeasance in public office” by numerous high-profile officers, including Mr Overland.
Her lawyer, Angela Sdrinis, said there had been no action taken against any of the officers who “benefited” from Gobbo’s “assistance”.
On Friday, Tim Tobin SC confirmed he was acting in the appeal but would not comment on it.
Victoria Police also said as the case was before the court it would not provide a comment.
The Lawyer X scandal, first uncovered by the Herald Sun, rocked Victoria Police and cast doubt over the convictions of a slew of major players in Melbourne’s underworld.
The high-profile lawyer had provided details to police about figures including Carl Wiliams, Rob Karam, Faruk Orman and Mick Gatto.
The Herald Sun’s expose sparked a royal commission, which lashed both Victoria Police and Gobbo for undermining Victoria’s justice system.
Gobbo has been living in hiding since the scandal was exposed.
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Originally published as Nicola Gobbo launches appeal against her high-profile court loss in new Lawyer X twist
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