Geoffrey Rush wins $2.87m in record-breaking defamation payout

Nationwide News, The Daily Telegraph’s publisher, has been ordered to pay Geoffrey Rush a record-breaking $2.87m in damages. It becomes Australia’s highest defamation payout to a single person, and a far cry from the $50,000 Rush’s barrister told the court he offered to settle for.

In a hearing yesterday, the Federal Court awarded Rush an additional $1.98m, on top of the $850,000 he was awarded at the time he won his defamation case, to account for the story’s impact on his income. This includes $1,060,773 for previous economic loss, $919,678 for future economic loss, and $42,302 in interest.