Overview
- A brief Supreme Court hearing on Friday set a November 23 trial date, the first time the matter has been in court, with a jury sought by Cate Sayers and a further hearing listed for May 18 on a foreshadowed cross application.
- Cate Sayers alleges defamation and breach of confidence over Luke Sayers’ statutory declaration to the AFL, saying it disclosed private and medical information and implied she posted the explicit photo.
- Luke Sayers denies publishing the image, says he was in the shower at the time and that the photo was taken for medical purposes, and he pleads qualified privilege for the declaration.
- His defence claims Cate accessed his phone in March last year and copied a privileged draft of the declaration, and it recounts her saying the day after the post, “Let’s see how you get out of this one.”
- An AFL integrity investigation concluded his X account had been compromised; he later stepped down as Carlton president and his consulting firm was rebranded to Tenet Advisory.