The Gunndenburg

Dave Groves
The Age: Gunns pays 350,000 and declares victory
What Heidi says …
What the Wildos say …
MEDIA RELEASE 16TH MARCH 2009

GUNNS DEFENDANT VOWS TO CONTINUE TO FIGHT FOR FREEDOM OF SPEECH

Gunns 20 defendant and Tasmanian filmmaker Heidi Douglas is pleased to have reached settlement over her long running court case with Gunns Ltd but vows to continue highlighting the need for freedom of speech in Australia.

“The Gunns 20 court case has taught me that we do not have a legislated right to freedom of speech or the right to protest in this country”, she said.

Douglas has been involved with the case since 14 December 2004 when Gunns Ltd served a $6.4 million lawsuit to 17 individuals and three organisations. Douglas was engaged in the case through her role as an independent filmmaker and through her employment by The Wilderness Society.

“Gunns have failed in their bid to paint me as an organiser of illegal actions I had filmed in the course of my business”, she said.

Douglas settlement with Gunns centred around a series of undertaking. She has agreed not to lock onto machinery, bar the way of operations into Gunns lands, or trespass on Gunns woodchip mills until 31st December 2011.

“The irony is I have only ever attended protests to film other people protesting. Ultimately the Gunns case has proved to be a massive waste of their shareholders money”, she said.

“My thoughts are with the defendants who remain in this case and also with the Triabunna 13 defendants. What they are fighting for is a a right to freedom of speech in Australia”, she said. Douglas is currently making a documentary about her experience of being sued.

…

Media Release 16 March, 2009
Gunns loses 4-year legal action against TWS
$3.5 million damages claim turns into $350,000 payment to TWS

The tables have today turned on woodchip company Gunns Ltd and its four-year long legal action in the Victorian Supreme Court against The Wilderness Society is over. Its claims for $3.5 million in damages have turned into a $350,000 payment to TWS.

In a settlement finalised today, Gunns will pay The Wilderness Society $350,000 in costs and discontinue its legal action against TWS and individuals either currently or formally with TWS – Alec Marr, Leanne Minshull and Heidi Douglas.

“This is a significant win for free speech in Australia. The fact that Gunns now has to pay money to The Wilderness Society after claiming for the past four years that TWS owed it $3.5 million demonstrates that the legal action was an empty case from the beginning,” former defendant Alec Marr said.

“Unfortunately the scars from four years of defending against nonsense will remain for some time. Many lives have been deeply affected by the sort of legal action that Gunns has pursued and there are still seven remaining defendants, despite today’s outcome.”

The Wilderness Society’s Virginia Young called on Gunns to now settle its legal action against the remaining seven defendants.

“This has been the biggest legal fiasco since the McLibel case, which taught every other corporation that suing community groups was a bad idea. After spending probably $3m of shareholders’ money claiming that The Wilderness Society organised a grand conspiracy against them, Gunns has now had to drop the claims against The Wilderness Society and pay us money.

“The legal action was rubbish from the start, and we are proud not only to have won the case today, but also to have continued to campaign for the protection of forests and against Gunns’ environmentally destructive pulp mill.”

• Details of settlement:
• Gunns discontinues case against TWS and its (former) officers, Alec Marr, Leanne Minshull and Heidi Douglas
• Gunns will release TWS from liability from all actions in any version of the statement of claim
• Gunns will pay TWS $325,000 (net):
• Gunns will pay TWS $350K for TWS costs in the case
• TWS will pay Gunns $25K in damages for a protest in the Styx Valley November 2003

The Wilderness Society has given no undertakings to Gunns and is free to continue to campaign to protect Tasmania’s forests.

Gunns v The Wilderness Society – Fact Box

Number of Court Hearing Days Case has Occupied (inc mediation) 39
Number of Lawyers involved 40
Gunns estimated legal fees $2 million
Costs award against Gunns – for defendants legal costs $1m (approx)
Amount of damage Gunns lists as having been allegedly caused by Defendants $115,504.48
Amount of money Gunns claim for “trouble and inconvenience” $225,000
Number of pages in current statement of claim 216
Number of files in Gunns case folder on TWS legal computer 18,000 (31GB)
Number of boxes of documents in TWS lawyer’s office 17
Estimated costs to Victorian taxpayer $110,000 +
Timeline: Gunns vs The Wilderness Society

13 December 2004 Gunns sues The Wilderness Society and 5 of its officers claiming over $3m in damages for 9 actions arising out of the campaign to protect Tasmania’s old growth forests

1 July 2005 Gunns serves a second, more detailed version of their statement of their claims

18 July 2005 Justice Bongiorno strikes out the first two version of Gunns’ statement of claim

15 August 2005 Gunns files a 3rd version of their claims, adding a claim for a “campaign against Gunns” and claiming a further $500,000

28 August 2006 Justice Bongiorno strikes out Gunns 3rd version of their statement of claim

3 April 2007 Gunns files their 4th version of their statement of claim, dropping half of the case against TWS – including all the claims for alleged unlawful lobbying of banks, Japanese customers and the “campaign against Gunns”

18 June 2007 TWS files defence admitting organizing a protest in the Styx Valley in November 2003 to highlight the destruction of world heritage valley forests there, but otherwise denying the claims

20 March 2008 Gunns applies to court for access to a range of documents from TWS, and complaining that many documents provided were heavily masked as confidential and irrelevant

May 2008 TWS and other defendants settle claim in relation to Triabunna 2004 protest

3 September 2008 Master Evans dismisses Gunns application for access to further TWS documents

7 November 2008 Justice Kaye confirms Master Evans decision on appeal

10 February 2008 Mediation begins

16 March 2009 Gunns settles case against The Wilderness Society paying TWS (net) $325,000.