Royal prank radio host Michael Christian sues broadcaster SCA 13 years after hoax call to hospital led to nurse's suicide
Radio hosts Michael Christian and Mel Greig were presenting on Sydney's 2Day FM in December 2012 when they called the private King Edward VII hospital in London as part of a prank.
Catherine was pregnant with her first child Prince George at the time, and being treated for severe morning sickness.
The duo put on exaggerated British accents to impersonate Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Charles and convinced nurse Jacintha Saldanha to transfer the call to Catherine's nurse.
The second nurse spent about two minutes speaking to the radio hosts about Catherine's condition.
Ms Saldanha later took her own life after the audio was broadcast by 2Day FM, which is owned by Southern Cross Austereo (SCA).
The prank and Saldanha's suicide sparked international outrage, but SCA ultimately faced no legal action over the tragic incident.
Mr Christian stayed on at the broadcaster but has now pursued legal action against SCA in Federal Court after being made redundant in February.
According to court documents, Mr Christian's lawyers argue that SCA left their client and Ms Greig to face vitriol and harassment over the prank.
'SCA did not immediately take public accountability for the incident, but rather allowed Mr Christian and Ms Greig to be left exposed to relentless public vitriol, harassment and abuse, including death threats,' Mr Christian's lawyers said in the documents.
'The radio presenters were left by SCA as the convenient fall guys and scapegoats for SCA management decisions and non-compliance.'
Mr Christian's lawyers claim their client did not pursue action earlier because the broadcaster had promised to help rehabilitate his reputation after the tragedy.
Meanwhile, Ms Greig sued SCA for failure to provide a safe workplace, which was settled in December 2013.
As part of the settlement, SCA made a public statement that Ms Greig was not responsible for the decision to air the hoax call and had even suggested that it be edited before broadcast.
Ms Greig later told BBC Newsnight that Ms Saldanha's tragic death will stay with her for the rest of her life.
'I will always feel at fault to an extent, because I was in that prank call and I was mentioned in Jacintha's suicide note,' she said.
'She thought of me before she took her own life – how can you not feel guilty and blame?'
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