Clive Palmer v. Mark McGowan defamation court costs

The $20,000 awarded to Western Australian Premier Mark McGowan in the defamation case against billionaire Clive Palmer is less than the daily cost his high-profile lawyers charge.

The costs were revealed at a federal court hearing on Thursday. This hearing will determine who will pay the legal costs of the two costly mud contests.

After the slander war ended in a draw on August 2ndFederal Judge Michael Lee will announce at 2:15 p.m. WST the legal costs Washington taxpayers will have to pay.

Palmer’s lawyers argued that both parties should cover the costs, but McGowan’s lawyer, Brett Walker SC, said the prime minister would “walk away” to Palmer to avoid a costly trial in December 2021. The judge said that he should have considered the offer, but it was rejected.

In the proposal, McGowan’s attorneys recognized that both parties were the main actors in the matter and that both parties would likely lose, so it would be best to stay the case to save costs. I was.

Indicating the likely imbalance between the damages awarded and the legal costs of the lawsuit, Judge Lee joked that the $20,000 awarded to McGowan was less than the per diem that Walker claimed. rice field.

“It’s an interesting stage in your career when your daily charges exceed the total damages of the incident,” he said, adding Walker, “I don’t want you to think it’s the first time. is.”

Walker argued that there should be “pox in both houses when it comes to costs.” Romeo and Julietalthough there was certainly no love scene in this long-running dispute.