A Supreme Court judge, Paul Tottle, has just dropped a bombshell in Western Australia, awarding a solo legal practitioner a cool $160,000 for defamation. The culprits? Two emails, packed with lies and unfounded accusations, that should never have seen the light of day.
Adam Sydney Brown, a former client with an axe to grind, fires off an email in July 2021 that’s nothing short of character assassination. He accuses the lawyer of fraud, incompetence, and using shady tactics for financial gain.He broadcasts his venom to a who’s who of Western Australia’s legal and political elite.
Justice Tottle, not one to mince words, calls Brown’s allegations “bizarre, irrational, scandalous and calculated to distress.”
Later, the situation becomes immeasurably worse when Jerald and Emma Hazel Martin, former clients turned unwitting pawns in Brown’s game. They fire off a second email, upping the ante with accusations of criminal offenses. This time, the audience grows, reaching into the halls of parliament and federal agencies.
It was sent to more people than the first email, including the Magistrates Court, an employee of the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission and a member of the State Parliament.
The sole practitioner, describes the gut-wrenching moment she read these emails. “It’s horrifying,” she says, painting a vivid picture of a professional reputation under siege.
Justice Tottle, playing the role of both judge and detective, pieces together the puzzle. He concludes that Brown, the puppet master, had a hand in crafting the Martins’ email.
the lawyer-victim retreated from her professional community, becoming a “hermit” in the wake of these attacks. She even believed she was receiving “unusual looks” from the judiciary, a paranoia that speaks volumes about the psychological toll of such unfounded accusations.
But Justice Tottle, ever the voice of reason, assures us that no judge worth their salt would give credence to such outlandish claims. It’s a small comfort in a storm of lies.
Justice Tottle not only awards damages but also slaps a permanent injunction on the defendants.
