The former manager of pop star Guy Sebastian has asked the state to pay his estimated $1 million legal costs after successfully overturning his convictions for defrauding his famous client.
Titus Emanuel Day was jailed for at least two and a half years in November 2022 after a jury found him guilty of 34 fraud-related charges, including misappropriating more than $620,000.
Last year, the star manager had his convictions overturned on appeal and will face a new trial next year. He has continued to deny the allegations against him.
Mr Day’s lawyers have applied for a temporary stay on his retrial until the Crown Prosecution Service compensates him for the reasonable legal costs he incurred during the initial trial and the appeal.
Mr Day’s legal costs are understood to amount to almost $1 million.
The New South Wales District Court was previously told the Crown had agreed to pay reasonable costs, but the amount was yet to be determined.
If the parties do not reach an agreement on the figure, it will be determined by the court.
Mr Day’s lawyer, Lauren MacDougall, told NewsWire it would be unfair to proceed with the retrial before Mr Day received compensation.
“It is a serious matter for the Court of Criminal Appeal to find that a miscarriage of justice has occurred as a result of the Crown prosecutor’s conduct and to quash the convictions accordingly. That is what has happened in this case,” he said.
‘Our position is that, since the Crown is at fault in this regard, it would be an injustice to Mr Day to allow him to face a further trial without compensating him for the wasted costs resulting from the failure of his first trial.’
The request for suspension will be decided by the Court on October 14 if no agreement is reached between the parties before that date.
Mr Day became Mr Sebastian’s manager in 2009 and the pair became close friends before falling out bitterly eight years later.
The award-winning musician claimed that he had found anomalies in his financial records and attributed this to his manager.
Mr. Sebastian took legal action against his former friend to recover the money he claimed was owed to him.
Titus Day (pictured) had his convictions overturned on appeal last year and is due to face a new trial next year. He has continued to deny the allegations against him.
Mr Day responded with a counter-claim alleging he was the one who owed the former Australian Idol winner money.
Both men have vehemently denied the allegations against them.
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