Network Ten acted in bad faith when it posted a withdrawal at the end of its Terms of Service after it settled a defamation case involving a man whose partner died from injecting silicone into his scrotum. This has been decided by a judge.
The cameras rolled as Jack’s mother, Linda Chapman, accused Mr. Hafertepen of being responsible for her son’s death and said, “Get out of my house, I hate you” when he visited her to hand over his ashes.
The couple had lived in Seattle and posted frequent blogs about their dominant / submissive relationship, in which Mr. Hafertepen played the role of “Master” and Mr. Chapman had one of his “puppies”.
Mr. Chapman changed his name to Tank Hafertepen before his death, but was named as Jack Chapman in the lawsuit.
Mr Hafertepen alleged in court that the “over-sensational” show – reported by Hamish Macdonald, the Q&A host – suspected he was responsible for the death and that he was tricked into giving the interview on false pretenses .
The case was settled earlier this year, but went straight back to court when Ten posted a “clarification” at the bottom of his Terms of Use page.
“To put it mildly, this was a dark place,” wrote federal judge Anna Katzmann in Monday’s judgment.
The wording of the clarification agreed by the parties is that Ten should not imply that Mr. Hafertepen “had anything to do with this death”.
“If someone meant it like that, then Network 10 withdraws such a proposal unconditionally,” it is sometimes said.
Judge Katzmann said the lawyer who published the apology, Myles Farley, was “often evasive” when he testified.
It denied Mr Farley’s claim that the Terms of Use page was the “most logical” and “most appropriate” place to go for the statement.
“The most rational explanation for his choice of location was that he believed it was Ten’s best interest to bury him where he was unlikely to be found,” she wrote.
Part of the settlement also required Ten to send letters to media organizations covering the story, informing them that they had recorded the story, and asking them to do the same or add clarification.
Judge Katzmann also reported to the sender because he refused to send copies of these letters to Mr. Hafertepen’s lawyers.
After back and forth, Ten said the letters could be viewed in person at a law firm.
“It is confusing that in 2020, during a global pandemic, Ten would insist that Mr. Hafertepen’s attorney visit Ten attorneys’ office to see letters to media organizations,” she wrote.
Judge Katzmann ordered Ten to republish the statement on a main landing page The project and pay costs.
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