60 Minutes story returns to court

A legal case surrounding a 60 Minutes story on Double Bay cosmetic surgeon Joseph Ajaka returned to court today.

The story had been promoted by Nine for broadcast last month but Ajaka won a court order at the 11th hour preventing the broadcast, and the publication of articles in the Sydney Morning Herald and The Age.

Today Chief Justice Andrew Bell in the New South Wales court of appeal threw out an extraordinary order requiring Nine to hand over copies of the story by Adele Ferguson, prior to broadcast.

The appeals court ruled the order was a mistake and should be set aside because there was “no such power, jurisdiction or authority” for “preliminary discovery against a party or parties who were already defendants to proceedings”.

But not long after that Ajaka’s barrister, Kieran Smark, SC, returned to the NSW Supreme Court before Justice Stephen Rothman and withdrew the initial proceedings, immediately bringing a second set of proceedings in which he only sought to inspect the draft stories.

At the heart of the matter is whether journalists can be compelled to hand over stories ahead of publication, which Nine argues would set a precedent. Ajaka’s legal team has claimed 60 Minutes was being sensationalist following a promo before he had responded to questions sent by Ferguson. They argued, “a genuine publisher … would wish to present both sides of the story.”

Justice Rothman has reserved his decision on the latest arguments until tomorrow.

Source: The Guardian, The Age