Steven Joyce awarded $269,000 in costs in National Business Review defamation suit

Steven Joyce. Photo / File

Former Finance Minister Steven Joyce has been awarded $269,000 in solicitor and client costs after successfully suing The National Business Review and its owner Todd Scott for defamation.

The former finance minister did not seek damages in the proceeding, launched over a 2018 column titled 'Joyce sacking first test of Bridges' leadership.'

Joyce had originally sued the writer of the column, PR man and political commentator Matthew Hooton, but Hooton settled that dispute by paying Joyce's costs at the time of $5,000.

In December last year, Joyce won a declaration that NBR defamed him.

While NBR said on its website that it is appealing the case, in the meantime, it must pay Joyce's costs.

In a judgment dated June 11, 2020, Justice Pheroze Jagose noted the proceedings saw expenditure of nearly 500 hours of lawyers' time and labour over the course of some 22 months at just less than a $480 blended rate.

The newspaper and Scott said the costs sought were "not properly recoverable" and were "entirely unreasonable for the work involved."

However, noting that Joyce's lawyers progressively advised NBR of its incurred costs, the judge said he must pay.

"I see nothing in the NBR's proposed deductions to reduce quantification of the sum and solicitor and client costs awarded to Mr Joyce," the judge said.

Scott tweeted on numerous occasions that he had ambitions to purchase Stuff, but it was sold to its chief executive Sinead Boucher.

The publisher currently lives in a $250,000 motorhome, having sold his St Heliers home for $5.15 million and repaid debt owed to former NBR owner Barry Colman, completing his purchase of the publication.