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Rebel Wilson loses High Court bid

Last ditch legal hurdle ends in disappointment for defiant Rebel Wilson.

Rebel Wilson has failed in her bid for her appeal case to be heard in the High Court of Australia, ending her legal battle.

ABC reports ends her last legal chance to claim back special damages she returned to Bauer Media.

Last year, Wilson was awarded more than $4.7 million in compensation — the largest defamation damages payout ever ordered by an Australian court – after Justice John Dixon said the defamation extent was “unprecedented in this country” because of the articles’ global reach.

But in June this year the Court of Appeal forced Wilson to pay back $4.1 million of those damages and 80 per cent of the magazine publisher’s legal costs, finding “there was no basis in the evidence for making any award of damages for economic loss”.

But today’s High Court appearance was the final step in Wilson’s legal ladder.

“This has been a long fight and a long journey in the courts, but the great thing about today is that it brings it to a definitive end,” she said today.

“The whole reason for bringing this case is that I wanted to stand up to a bully, which is Bauer Media.”

She added, “At the end of the day the jury restored my reputation, I’ve moved on personally and professionally.”

Source: ABC

4 Responses

  1. Agreed! This decision is just a huge endorsement for these magazines to continue just printing blatant lies on a weekly basis without any consequence for it.

  2. Rebel was awarded more than $4.7 million in compensation but has to pay back $4.1 million of those damages and 80 per cent of the magazine publisher’s legal costs despite winning the case how does that work ? Looking at the maths does that mean she ends up losing or winning money. Very confusing for a case she won they do say the laws an ass

    1. Wilson claimed $7m in damages. The first judge incorrectly gave her $4.7m. The appeals court corrected this and she got $600k (nearly twice the maximum capped amount) and then had to pay costs out of that. So the court found that yes she was defamed, but no she didn’t make a fortune out of it or send Bauer into bankruptcy.

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