CCTV footage from outside an NSW court will play a role in a defamation case filed by a supporter of former NRL player Jarryd Hayne against Seven Network for allegations he spat at a woman who has accused Hayne of sexual assault.
Mina Greiss, who attended Newcastle District Court on 6 May last year to support Hayne, is suing Seven for an online story, a Facebook post and a tweet labeling her as “grub” who allegedly “looked down” and spat at the woman out of court after Hayne. he was sentenced to at least three years and eight months in prison for sexual assault.
Jarryd Hayne out of court in March 2021. Credit: Edwina Pickles
Hayne’s conviction was eventually overturned by the NSW Criminal Appeals Court. He was released in February and will face a new trial next year.
Sue Chrysanthou, SC, acting for Greiss, told the Sydney Federal Court on Monday that her client had received “messages, threats and abuse” after the posts and there had been a “huge response to [Seven’s] … posts on social media ”.
Seven, who did not name Greiss in the publications but did include a photograph of him, intends to rely primarily on a defense of the truth. He has said in his written defense, filed in court, that Greiss spat at the woman’s feet “as he passed by her side to leave the courtroom.”
Monique Cowden, who acts for Seven, said there would be “eyewitness statements by our side saying she committed the conduct and the applicant [Greiss] presumably he will say no ”.
“This is a case that will trigger eyewitness evidence,” he said.
The court learned that Greiss’ legal team had obtained CCTV footage of the day in question from Newcastle Court House.
Cowden said the footage was potentially relevant to “resolve this dispute easily.” Seven was open to mediation, he said, but the limited issues at stake meant it might be easier to try any out-of-court settlement of the case by correspondence.