Thomson Geer are acting for four defendants in two separate defamation proceedings brought by John Peros. These proceedings arise out of an investigative podcast published by journalist Hedley Thomas and The Australian, Shandee's Story.
Shandee's Story investigated the cold case murder of Shandee Blackburn. Mr Peros was tried and acquitted of Shandee's murder in 2017. In 2020, he was the subject of adverse findings in the Queensland Coroner's Court, where the Coroner found he had killed Shandee. Shandee's Story examined Shandee's murder, the trial and the coronial inquest. As a result of the podcast, Queensland launched a public inquiry into the state's forensic laboratory.
In 2024, we successfully applied to dismiss the proceeding in the Queensland Supreme Court on the basis that Mr Peros was incapable of establishing he suffered serious harm from the podcast due to the Coroner's earlier finding. The decision vindicated our position that an evidentiary rule (known as the Dingle rule) did not apply to a consideration of causation of serious harm – a novel point of law in Australia. Mr Peros has appealed the Queensland Supreme Court's decision, which will be heard in April 2025.
The Thomson Geer team was led by Partners John-Paul Cashen and Marlia Saunders, and supported by Senior Associate Amelia CausleyTodd.