Ten says it will not be ‘bullied’ by Seven after losing costs ruling in John Stephens case

Network Ten has issued a fiery statement accusing its rival Seven of bullying and overstating the size of its legal costs, after the Supreme Court today awarded costs against it in the legal battle over veteran programmer John Stephens.

In a statement issued today the Network said: “Network Ten’s aim from the outset was to expose the truth of what happened after Mr Stephens signed a contract with our company. We were not prepared to be bullied and the court has vindicated our position that Mr Stephens’ contract with Network Ten is on foot.”

Last month the lost a legal bid to prevent programmer John Stephens from working for two years for rival Seven Network after it alleged he breached a contract with Ten, when he reneged on a  deal he signed with them after just two days opting to stay with Seven.

The NSW Supreme Court  ruled that while the Ten agreement remains “on foot”, he dismissed its claim for relief including preventing Stephens from working for Ten’s rivals for the next two years and today chose to require Ten to pay its rival’s costs.