Orthopaedic surgeon Dr Munjed Al Muderis has lost his defamation case against Nine, the publisher of this website.

Al Muderis had sued 60 Minutes, The Sydney Morning Herald and The Age over a series of reports in September 2022 he claims ruined his reputation and set back the field of prosthetic limbs by 20 years.

Nine defended the claims as true or otherwise protected as journalism in the public interest.

“I accept the evidence of the journalists … that they each held a subjective belief that the publications were in the public interest,” Justice Wendy Abraham said in handing down her verdict.

“The positive media coverage his practice had enjoyed needed correcting, and that the investigation revealed another side of his practice.”

This case was one of the first tests of a public interest defence for reporting.

A Nine spokesperson said: “Nine’s victory today on the basis of public interest is a significant moment in Australian defamation case law. We will always stand behind our journalism.”