Thirteen women have come forward with claims against veteran crime reporter Robert Ovadia, his former employer Seven alleged in the first hearing of his unlawful dismissal case in the Federal Court.
Seven’s barrister Vanja Bulut said at a preliminary hearing in Sydney on Thursday that, after Ovadia’s dismissal by Seven in June, “13 more females have come forward with complaints in relation to his conduct”, and this was subject to an investigation.
Former senior Seven Network journalist Robert Ovadia.
Ovadia “had been put on notice of that”, Bulut said. “To the extent that those allegations are recorded in documents, those documents have been provided [to Ovadia].”
This would be part of Seven’s defence to Ovadia’s claim of breach of contract, Bulut said.
It may form the basis of a legal argument that, even if there was no basis to summarily terminate Ovadia at the time, “the conduct that has come to light subsequently does provide a basis to summarily terminate, and my client is able to rely on those additional allegations … that [have] come to light”, she said. That would be set out in a written defence, which has yet to be filed, Bulut said.
In a statement after the hearing, Ovadia said: “The claims are baseless and Seven has never provided evidence despite repeated requests. Even today, no evidence to support any of this.”
Ovadia launched Federal Court proceedings in August against Network Seven and his former boss, news and current affairs director Anthony De Ceglie, alleging he was unlawfully sacked. His lawsuit alleges adverse action and breach of contract.
Ovadia’s barrister, Andrew Gotting, told the court Seven had said in a letter that the termination of Ovadia’s employment was “effected immediately for serious misconduct”, and there was an “express statement” that he was not entitled to notice.
“There are two principal claims made, the first relating to adverse action and the second relating to the provision of notice of termination,” Gotting said.