Sep 8, 2021

Greta StonehouseAAP HarperCollins Australia incurred a “surprising” and disputed legal bill and remains evasive about books sold that allegedly defame Russian tycoon Roman Abramovich, a court has been told. Abramovich is suing the Australian and UK arms of the publishing house over a recent book that reported he purchased English Premier League club Chelsea at the direction of President Vladimir Putin, according to Reuters. The lawsuit follows Catherine Belton’s history book Putin’s People: How the KGB Took Back Russia and Then Took on the West. A former aide to Putin, Sergei Pugachev, told the author that the Russian leader saw acquiring the football club as an opportunity to raise Russia’s profile and increase its influence. Abramovich is seeking to permanently restrain any further publications of the book in Australia, among other damages. The billionaire businessman was represented by Sue Chrysanthou SC in the Federal Court on Tuesday when she agitated for specific numbers of books sold. As both HarperCollins Australia and its UK branch were respondents in the defamation case it remained essential to know “the extent of publication and who is responsible,” for the court to adequately assess damages, Ms Chrysanthou said. It includes how many books were imported and by whom, the number still sitting in warehouses, and those still being distributed to booksellers, the court was told. Ms Chrysanthou said the originating publisher was responsible for book copies it may not have directly sold in Australia, pointing to the recent High Court case in favour of Dylan Voller in terms of what defines a “publisher”. A “remarkable” defence legal bill estimate of about $5 million was also questioned, including the “surprising” cost of an interlocutory application before the hearing even gets underway, valued at $275,000. Serious concern was raised regarding the estimates amid attempts to close the case given costs allegedly far outweighed benefits. Camera Icon Roman Abramovich is suing over a book claiming he bought Chelsea FC at Vladimir Putin's direction. Credit: AP “A key part of their submissions is that we should all throw our hands in the air ... the cost to the poor respondents ... is out of proportion to protecting (my client’s) stellar reputation,” Ms Chrysanthou said. Michael Hall SC representing HarperCollins Australia said retail sales figures had been adequately provided. There was now an ongoing investigation into the content being disputed with a large number of witnesses to be called and complex legal arguments pleaded. “It’s no real surprise this would be an expensive process,” Mr Hall said. But it was not a proper use of legal proceedings for the publishing house now to be investigating the serious criminal allegations made against Abramovich, Ms Chrysanthou said. HarperCollins previously said in a statement that it and Belton will “robustly” fight the suit and defend “the right to report on matters of considerable public interest”. The book, HarperCollins said, “is an authoritative, important and conscientiously sourced work on contemporary Russia.” Share to Facebook