ARN will reportedly serve a subpoena to former employee and radio presenter, Jackie ‘O’ Henderson, in an attempt to obtain documents for legal proceedings against her former co-host, Kyle Sandilands.
According to claims made on the Game Changers Radio podcast, the Federal Court has approved ARN’s request to seek documents from Henderson, who is pursuing her own legal action against the company following the termination of her contract.
In Henderson’s own case against ARN, the broadcaster can seek documents directly from her through a legal process known as a notice to produce, which allows parties in a lawsuit to request relevant material from each other.
However, different rules apply in the Sandilands matter because Henderson is not a party to those proceedings.
Speaking on Game Changers Radio, Craig Bruce said ARN had been seeking access to Henderson’s documents for potential use in its case against Sandilands.
“So ARN have been trying to get access to Jackie’s documents so they can potentially use them in the case involving Kyle,” Bruce said.
He went on to add that “in Jackie’s own case against ARN, the company can directly request documents from her because she’s part of the lawsuit. That’s called a notice to produce. But in Kyle’s case, Jackie isn’t a party. So ARN can’t ask her directly. They need the court to issue a subpoena, which has been approved, from my understanding.”
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Co-host Irene Hume said she believed the subpoena application had been approved following a court hearing she attended remotely.
“It has been approved. I know that because I was on the call on Wednesday,” Hume said.
“Someone who we know in law sent me links for Wednesday, which was the hearing the court was going to assess or determine whether or not ARN have the right to request these subpoenas. There were two. There was one for the documents and one for a witness.”
Hume said she became aware Henderson was involved when the court sought appearances from her legal representatives.
“I then jumped on the call, and the judge or host said, ‘Who is present for Jackie Henderson’s team? Can you state your name?’ And then I realised at that point that one of the subpoenas is for Jackie,” Hume added.
All three parties have been embroiled in a legal battle after the broadcaster ARN terminated the contracts of both Sandilands and Henderson back in February, despite the pair having several years remaining on their landmark 10-year deal.
ARN argued the hosts had breached contractual obligations, while Sandilands and Henderson have maintained they were wrongfully terminated.
ARN is defending its decision while seeking damages and the return of millions of dollars in shares and related benefits provided under the agreement.
From Mediaweek