Senator Linda Reynolds has issued a concerns notice to Brittany Higgins while continuing a separate defamation action against her fiance David Sharaz.
Senator Linda Reynolds has issued a concerns notice to Brittany Higgins while continuing a separate defamation action against her fiance David Sharaz.
The former federal defence minister lodged a writ in the Supreme Court of Western Australia in January, naming Mr Sharaz as a defendant.
Ms Reynolds’ lawyer Martin Bennett today told the court that it had been impracticable to personally serve the writ to Mr Sharaz from when the document was filed in the WA Supreme Court.
Supreme Court Justice Marcus Solomon said he was satisfied that it was impracticable for Mr Sharaz to be served the writ personally and allowed a substituted service by email.
The court update comes hours after Ms Higgins revealed via Twitter that she was considering legal options over a concerns notice served by Ms Reynolds.
Ms Higgins' tweet this morning said the concerns notice threatened defamation action over an Instagram story.
Mr Bennett said Mr Sharaz and Ms Higgins knew of the legal action, referencing the latter's tweet being posted less than 24 hours after Ms Reynolds issued the concerns notice.
Speaking to the court, Mr Bennett said a lawyer from Bennett law firm had sent a concerns notice to three email addresses believed to be Mr Sharaz's in early January, and received an out of office from his workplace email at Southern Cross Austereo.
Media reports show Mr Sharaz had since left Southern Cross Austereo and moved in with Ms Higgins to a rental property in the Gold Coast with the address still unknown to Ms Reynolds' solicitors, Mr Bennett told the court.
Mr Bennett said an email was also sent to Aaron Bloch Leibler partner Leon Zwier, who had been reported in the media to be advising Mr Sharaz, in February.
However, Mr Bennett told the court that Mr Zwier said he did not have instructions to accept the service and described Mr Sharaz as "my client's fiance" during the lawyers' correspondence this week.
Justice Solomon today approved Mr Bennett's application, on behalf of Ms Reynolds, to email the writ to Mr Sharaz's two non-work addresses and Mr Zwier instead of personally serving the documents.
"I'm satisfied that it is impracticable for Mr Sharaz to be served personally," he said.
"I am satisfied by those means it is likely to come to the attention of Mr Sharaz."
Justice Solomon said he was satisfied to consider the writ served within 24 hours of the emails being sent.
Outside court, Mr Bennett said there had been no correspondence from Mr Sharaz’s email addresses or any way to ascertain his current address.
“There was no way of serving him,” he said.
“This [decision] will now require Mr Sharaz to enter an appearance and come and defend his conduct in this court.”
Ms Reynolds’ claims initially revolved around two tweets on Mr Sharaz’s Twitter account published in January and December last year, according to the Supreme Court writ lodged in January.
In the writ, she alleged the two tweets were written by Mr Sharaz and were falsely defamatory of her, causing her loss and damage.
She is claiming damages, including aggravated damages, an injunction to restrain Mr Sharaz from publishing the defamatory material or words, and interest on the damages.
However, Mr Bennett told reporters outside the court that the writ had been amended to reference five social media posts allegedly made by Mr Sharaz.
"It's three tweets, a Facebook post, and an Instagram post," he said.
Outside court, Mr Bennett also confirmed a concerns notice was issued to Ms Higgins yesterday.
Mr Bennett said the notice gave Ms Higgins an offer to make amends for what senator Reynolds contend to be further defamation and apologise.
