Channel Nine has been sent to the pound for its sensational reporting on a custody dispute over an Instagram-famous Cavoodle from Sydney’s plush north shore.
The network will have to pay Oscar’s owner, lawyer Gina Edwards, $150,000, including aggravated damages, following a well-fought defamation lawsuit in Federal Court.
Ms Edwards sued Nine over two TV broadcasts and two A Current Affair articles about her custody dispute with her former friend Mark Gillespie for the hoax.
On Friday, Judge Michael Wigney called Nine’s reports from May and June 2021 “extravagant, excessive and sensational”.
Channel Nine will pay $150,000 in damages to high-profile lawyer Gina Edwards (pictured with Oscar Cavoodle outside the Federal Court after winning her case on Friday)
Ms Edwards sued Nine over two TV broadcasts and two A Current Affair articles regarding her custody dispute with her former friend Mark Gillespie (pictured) over the charade.
“The broadcasts and accompanying articles were produced and edited in such a sensational manner as to unnecessarily and unjustifiably disapprove and humiliate Ms. Edwards,” he wrote in a 130-page ruling.
Reports wrongly portrayed the lawyer as a dog thief who had stolen Oscar for her own financial gain, including claims that she was “living a good life” thanks to the endorsement of pet companies.
Nine and ACA journalist Steve Marshall chased and harassed the Sydney lawyer in a park and in her office with these images used in television reports, she discovered.
The degrading tenor and tone towards Ms Edwards, including the description of her as a “dog sitter”, compounded the pain and suffering she felt as a result, the judge said.
Nine made no effort to independently investigate Gillespie’s claims and did not contact Edwards for his side of the story, it found.
Nine will have to pay Ms Edwards (pictured) $150,000, including aggravated damages.
Cruise worker Mark Gillespie previously enjoyed a three-way custody agreement with Oscar
This “blind acceptance” of Mr Gillespie’s allegations, and Nine’s refusal to remove the broadcasts from the website as requested, further compounded the pain and distress caused, Judge Wigney said.
The judge found that Edwards ultimately obtained the Oscar through deception in 2019 by falsely claiming he was going to appear on a Channel Seven show, Pooch Perfect.
However, the attorney did not steal the cavoodle because at the time she had a genuine but incorrect belief that she was the dog’s co-owner, she said.
“Ms Edwards cannot be said to have been guilty of theft or theft in circumstances in which it cannot be said that she had no genuine and honest claim in respect of Oscar,” he wrote.
During a hearing in December 2022, the lawyer said she, her husband Ken Flavell and cruise ship worker Mr Gillespie had jointly cared for Oscar as “one mum and two dads”.
Ms Edwards said she, her husband Ken Flavell and Mr Gillespie, a cruise ship worker, had jointly cared for Oscar like “one mum and two dads”.
Before the fight, the three had lived life as a “strange little urban family” and had thrown lavish parties for birthdays, Halloween and other occasions, when dogs from all over the city came dressed in costumes and bow ties, the court was told. .
The custody battle between Ms Edwards and Mr Gillespie reached the New South Wales Supreme Court before a settlement was reached in November 2021, with the Kirribilli couple retaining ownership of the dog.
The defamation case will return to the Federal Court on May 16 when final orders are made.
This will include arguments over whether Nine should be ordered to remove the articles and how legal costs will be paid.
Nine has declined to comment on the ruling.