The lawyers of 66-year-old actor Geoffrey Rush have called an attempt by the Daily Telegraph to make a cross-claim against the Sydney Theatre Company “absurd” and “waste of the court’s time”.
According to ABC News, the Daily Telegraph made a cross-claim against the STC, as the newspaper believes the theatre company should also be held liable for defamation.
The argument given for this was the STC had provided the initial material for the article in question.
The bid has now been ridiculed by Rush’s lawyers, who have called the action “utterly hopeless”.
As per The Australian, Rush’s barrister Sue Chrysanthou asked in response to the bid: “Is News Limited going broke?”
Adding, “Why would they sue a source for contribution (to any damages that may arise)? They don’t need the money.’’
“It is frankly absurd to suggest the STC is liable for this article, it is nonsense.”
For Chrysanthou, the “ultimate purpose” for attempting the bid by Daily Telegraph was to re-open the possibility of issuing a subpoena to the STC, according to The Oz.
Three weeks ago, Rush had an early win in the case when he successfully had parts of the Daily Telegraph’s defence case struck out ahead of the pending trial.
Justice Michael Wigney is set to make orders on Friday.
