Photographer loses Kidman bid

2008-02-27 19:31

Sydney - A celebrity photographer who sued a newspaper that accused him of hounding Nicole Kidman was handed a huge legal bill on Wednesday instead of a damages payout when a judge ruled his intrusive behaviour had frightened the actress.

New South Wales state Supreme Court Justice Carolyn Simpson said she accepted that photographer Jamie Fawcett had tried to bug Kidman's house in Sydney and had engaged in a dangerous car chase through the city in his determination to photograph the star.

"That Ms Kidman was frightened by Mr Fawcett's conduct cannot be doubted," Simpson said. "The evidence amply demonstrates that Mr Fawcett's conduct was 'intrusive' and 'threatening'."

Fawcett had sued Fairfax Media, publisher of The Sun-Herald newspaper, for defamation for a January 2005 gossip column item that accused him of being Sydney's most disliked photographer who was determined to "wreak havoc" on Kidman's life.

A jury last year found that elements of the item defamed Fawcett, but Fairfax sought a further hearing to try to prove that the published claims were true.

Simpson was asked to rule on that, and alternatively whether Fawcett should be paid damages, and if so how much.

Simpson found the published comments were "substantially true" and ruled out damages.

She ordered Fawcett to pay Fairfax's legal costs, which were not immediately revealed but would likely run to many tens of thousands of dollars. The proceedings have lasted on and off for more than one year.

'Massive economic decision'

Fawcett, known as a paparazzi-style photographer who specialises in photographing Kidman when the Oscar winner is on her regular visits home to Sydney, said he would likely appeal Wednesday's ruling.

"It is a massive economic decision for me," Fawcett told reporters outside the court, adding he was "already hurting financially".

Kidman was the star witness in the case, and described to the judge breaking into tears and being terrified of a car wreck as a vehicle with Fawcett inside lurched through traffic as it chased her from her house in Sydney to her mother's in January 2005.

"I was frightened and I was worried there was going to be an accident," Kidman told the court last November.

In a statement to police presented in court, Kidman had said she was "absolutely terrified" during the chase and had thought "I hope I don't die like this".

The judge said she accepted "absolutely" the testimony Kidman had given, but that Fawcett's evidence could not be relied on.

This included Fawcett's denials that he had pursued Kidman dangerously or that he had hidden a listening device outside her home.

- AP