Nine

With truth on its side, Nine's defeat of soldier Ben Roberts-Smith's lawsuit was a huge win for investigative journalism in Australia, but while it might make lawyers blink before bringing defamation cases, the victory is not a game-changer, experts say.

Nine has abandoned its truth defence in a case brought by Euro Pacific CEO Peter Schiff over a 60 Minutes report on an international tax evasion investigation, and the bank boss is entitled to judgment in his favour, a court has heard.

The Australian Communications and Media Authority has found Channel Nine breached privacy rules in a story on A Current Affair about a violent dispute between neighbours in regional New South Wales that went viral on YouTube.

A judge has refused Nine’s bid to file a defence which he found was replete with unsupported allegations against Euro Pacific Bank boss Peter Schiff, but has given the broadcaster another chance to argue that defamatory allegations it made against Schiff in a 60 Minutes episode were true.

Former Liberal staffer Bruce Lehrmann has filed defamation proceedings against the ABC, the third such lawsuit he has brought after suing Ten and a News Corp Unit over publications airing the rape allegations of his former colleague Brittany Higgins.

Nine has won more time to file its evidence in advance of a six-week trial in defamation proceedings by surgeon Dr Munjed Al Muderis, despite a judge noting its “under-resourcing” of the matter, which the court heard could involve the broadcaster calling up to 40 witnesses.

The Full Federal Court has set aside a $150,000 defamation judgment for sports presenter Erin Molan and remitted the matter for a new trial, after finding a judge failed to properly consider publisher the Daily Mail's defence of contextual truth.

A judge has shaved $80,000 off the damages recently awarded to a Papua New Guinea politician who sued Fairfax Media over a series of articles published in the Australian Financial Review, after finding she wrongly discounted a mitigation defence by the publisher.

The Daily Mail has argued that Nine sports presenter Erin Molan should be stripped of a $150,000 defamation damages award because of her history of “seriously egregious conduct” on 2GB’s Continuous Call Team radio show.

Nine has defeated a bid to strike out its truth defences in a defamation case by a Melbourne hairdresser alleging a segment on 'A Current Affair' about 'internet trolls' and subsequent comments on the program’s Facebook page defamed her.