Come on, that's not 'heavy' at all. You normally go a bit better than that when you're gifted one of these Dorothy Dixer stories. I think staring down the barrel of a damages award and an excoriating cross-examination by a highly regarded defamation silk is what should meet the definition of 'heavy'. I'd also be more concerned about what is to be inferred or imputed by using the term 'gently' (an interesting adjectival choice) when referring to how the two Clayton Utz partners 'scrutinized' the Visa material. I'm sure Mr Lenehan and Mr Groves will also be interested given that they made the appropriate inquiries, from memory at the request of the outgoing ASX compliance officer.
I hope that Visa are front and centre at any Federal Court hearing because there may be some people there that need to be sworn in. At the very least, you may wish to ask the author of that document some questions. Who knows what that may open up? If the 'excerpts' are the highwater mark, go ahead, put the lot in. I'm sure if ASX don't, then ISX will. Judges do not look favorably on parties that handpick documents from a large bundle to potentially present an incomplete, unfair, and misleading picture to the Court. ASX counsel would be well aware and mindful not to do that. As for Mastercard, they appear to have said, "nothing to see here", despite the AFR pleas.
The truth is that this journalist's employer will in all likelihood pick up the tab, so why not adopt a cavalier "in for a penny, in for a pound" approach. If you're going down the spout, any further stories until the conclusion of the defamation proceedings aren't going to increase the damages greatly, if at all. Defamation damages, as a rule, aren't large unless you can plead a decent economic loss component as part of the claim. That may not be possible here.
A standard few hundred grand is not going to impact on the bottom line of the publishers.The damage was done with the earlier story. This scribe will churn out plenty more of this stuff between now and the end of this saga. Frankly, what are people being informed of? All he's doing is putting his own tilt on it in an effort to make it entertaining and attract clickbait. You can't blame the bloke for trying to sell papers, it's his job. It's a little gossip for people to chuckle over in a schadenfreude manner whilst having a coffee or heading into work. If I was reading this story afresh, I'd be more interested in getting my hands on the 3FASOC to see why the ASX is actually being sued and just who is this company that has the brass to do it. The AFR deserve a plaque in the ISX Hall of Fame for bringing this litigation to the forefront just when it disappears from the minds of the public. You cannot buy this sort of curiosity. If you were holding the reigns at the ASX, you'd be asking them to please put their pen down. The last time I checked, the AFR wasn't part of the list of cited judicial authorities or journals. (Not to be confused with the ALR or ALJR - if this case goes the distance, that's absolutely where it will finish up in print.)
The important thing is, don't let the punter being escorted out of the ground by security divert the attention from the main game. That's where it's at and all measure of tricks will be pulled to distract and discredit ISX until the Federal Court proceedings are concluded. That's just how it goes and some people will buy it, others will see it for what it is.
As to damages, does it really matter whether it's $500M or $50M or $10M? Maybe not. It's more about vindication and restoration of reputation. That's not to downplay the importance of any damages awarded, whatever the quantum. ASX with a MC of $17B (give or take) are good for any judgment sum, but their shareholders and PI insurers may not be thrilled. The real problem for them is the fallout from this case, whatever the result. ISX have taken their worst hit insofar as negative publicity is concerned. ASX, on the other hand, will feel a backlash if they are given a judicial admonition and I suspect there won't be any shortage of coverage on both sets of proceedings. The curiosity of the market and the wider public should be sufficiently piqued by then. These proceedings won't affect ASX financially but they certainly won't help their image.
Enjoy the weekend all.
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