Geyer v Ghosn (No 3)

The plaintiff, Geyer, sued Ghosn for defamation over a Facebook post. The Federal Circuit and Family Court of Australia was tasked with deciding the matter. The court had to determine the amount of interest to be added to the judgment sum awarded to Geyer, and whether Ghosn’s conduct of the proceedings warranted an indemnity costs order.

The court found that the plaintiff was entitled to interest on the judgment sum at a rate of 3%. The court also considered the degree of overlap between the defamatory imputations and the proportionality of the costs incurred by the plaintiff in relation to the successful and unsuccessful claims. Given that Ghosn did not respond to any offers made by Geyer, the court assessed the conduct of the proceedings and concluded that Ghosn’s conduct warranted the making of an indemnity costs order.

The court varied the earlier order to include interest at the rate of 3% on the judgment sum of $125,000, resulting in a total of $131,739.73. Additionally, the court ordered Ghosn to pay 90% of Geyer’s costs on an indemnity basis, with each party to bear their own costs for the remaining 10%.