Channel 7 will head to court to fight a defamation charge after it published articles claiming a man spat at an alleged sexual assault victim outside a NSW courthouse.
Mina Greiss is suing Channel 7 over two articles and a tweet that he alleged have damaged his reputation and resulted in threats and abuse.
The publications claimed the 38-year-old spat at a woman who claimed she was sexually assaulted by former NRL star Jarryd Hayne in 2018.
In the articles, Mr Greiss is criticised as a “grub” who committed a “vile act” against the woman.
On Monday, the Federal Court was told that Mr Greiss was outside Newcastle District Court “to support” Hayne during his sentencing on May 6, 2021.
His lawyer, top silk Sue Chrysanthou, told the court that her client had suffered significant reputational damage after he was identified in the articles shared online.
“My client has received threats and abuse which go to his damages case,” she said.
“There was a huge response to their (Channel 7’s) social media posts and a large number of comments made about my client.”
The court was told the applicant would rely on CCTV footage taken outside Newcastle Courthouse on the day and obtained by Mr Greiss through a freedom of information application.
“If we have the footage and it pertains to evidence of this conduct, this would be relevant to resolving the issue,” she said.
The footage was offered to Channel 7’s team in February, Ms Chrysanthou told the court, but they weren’t interested. She criticised the defence as being “light on” in relation to their version of events.
“Their particulars as to what they say occurred give very little detail,” she said.
Ms Cowden told the court the matter was not “document-heavy” but would involve contemporaneous material such as the articles in question, footage shot by people outside the courthouse, and communication between Mr Greiss and Channel 7.
“The case centres on whether the applicant committed conduct,” she said.
“Credibility is going to be crucial.”
Both parties agreed they were open to mediation of the “extremely limited matters in dispute” before the next court date on October 31.
If the parties cannot resolve the issues by that time, Justice Anna Katzmann determined a five-day hearing will begin on March 13, 2023.
Mr Greiss was fined $500 for offensive conduct by NSW Police in relation to spitting outside the court.
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