Lawyer X compensation bid fails, ending multimillion-dollar legal battle
The woman at the centre of the Lawyer X scandal – barrister turned secret police informer Nicola Gobbo – has lost her multimillion-dollar bid for compensation against the Victorian government.
Justice Melinda Richards dismissed Gobbo's suit against Victoria Police and the state of Victoria, filed more than four years ago, seeking compensation for what Gobbo says was 'negligence' and 'malfeasance in public office' by a number of high-profile officers.
Justice Richards found the officers named, including former police commissioner Simon Overland, did not breach a duty of care owed to the lawyer while she served as police spy because 'the risk of exposure was an inherent risk once she became an informer'.
Gobbo's life as a high-profile gangland barrister came crashing down in late 2018 when it was publicly revealed she had also been secretly spying on her clients for police as 'Informer 3838' or 'Lawyer X' at the height of the underworld war.
The scandal rocked Victoria Police and caused a string of gangland figures to appeal their convictions, including drug kingpin Tony Mokbel, who is now out on bail.
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Justice Richards noted that Gobbo had already been awarded $2.88 million in a 2010 settlement with the state after her identity as a key witness in a case was inadvertently revealed in court proceedings.
At the time, Gobbo's 15-year history as an informer – for which one chief commissioner called her a 'glittering prize' in the fight against organised crime – was still one of Victoria Police's most tightly guarded secrets.
Justice Richards ordered Gobbo to pay the state's costs.
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