The legal battle between van-life influencers Kyla and Jackson Cartwright and caravan manufacturer Masterpiece Caravans has been revived, after a $1.2 million damages order against the couple was set aside. The proceedings are now continuing as other customers come forward with complaints of their own.

Known online as the Cartwrights, Kyla and Jackson are among Australia’s best-known van-life creators, with 148,000 YouTube subscribers and 78,000 followers on Instagram.

The couple built their audience by documenting road trips with their four children, sharing images and videos from remote and scenic destinations across the country. Their substantial online following has become a key issue in legal proceedings filed by Masterpiece Caravans in late 2024.

In May, the family was ordered through a default judgment to pay Masterpiece Caravans $1.2 million. The company claimed two YouTube videos violated a settlement agreement reached after the Cartwrights raised concerns about defects in their caravan.

The Cartwrights bought an Optimum CRZR 25′ Quad Bunk 2023 from Masterpiece Caravans in 2022 for $198,550, then set off on an Australia-wide journey.

By August 2023, however, their seemingly idyllic life on the road had been disrupted. The Cartwrights alleged that the caravan contained several serious defects, claims Masterpiece Caravans disputed.

The parties reached a settlement in November. Under its terms, the Cartwrights returned the caravan for a full refund and agreed not to make disparaging remarks or speak negatively about the company.

The following February, a video was uploaded to the Cartwrights’ YouTube channel under the title ‘HOMELESS!! OUR CARAVAN’S GONE!! RAW 1HR HOME VIDEO STYLE in OUR LIFE – DELIVERY of our NEW HOME.’

Masterpiece alleges the video presented the company as having forced the family to return the caravan with just a few hours’ notice, leaving them without a home.

Court documents allege that a second video, published the following July, depicted Masterpiece as ‘evil’ and accused the company of building caravans with ‘catastrophic defects’. Masterpiece claims the two videos constituted misleading or deceptive conduct.

The $1.2 million order was initially made as a default judgment, but it has since been set aside. The Cartwrights’ defences have been reinstated and the case is moving forward. The matter is due to return to the NSW District Court for a directions hearing on November 9.

Asked specifically about the dispute with the Cartwrights, a Masterpiece Caravans spokesman urged the Daily Mail to ‘carefully review the court file’ rather than ‘jumping to any incorrect conclusions’.

The spokesman added: ‘The substance of the dispute is still being progressed through the Court. Masterpiece will be strongly pursuing its claim against the Cartwrights in full with hopes to achieve a positive outcome through the courts in due course. This claim relates solely to the Cartwrights’ conduct.’

In a sworn affidavit filed in February this year, Masterpiece Caravans sole director Remon Raffaello said the videos had had a ‘devastating impact’ on the business, leaving it ‘just holding on to survive’.

In an affidavit filed as part of the case, Mr Raffaello said people regularly ask him, ‘what did Masterpiece do to the Cartwrights?’ and ‘how is the floor in the Masterpiece caravans?’ He said these conversations occur ‘about three times a week’.

Many of these interactions take place at caravan shows, where ‘approximately five to 15 customers’ mention the Cartwrights to him personally.

Mr Raffaello claimed in his affidavit that ‘no customer who has asked me about the Cartwrights has proceeded with a sale’.

His affidavit also includes a year-on-year production schedule, showing what he says is a 67.4 per cent drop in average annual sales following the Cartwrights’ videos.

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Mr Raffaello also claimed that Masterpiece had been forced to sell its ownership stakes in two dealerships, after they were unable to sell any Masterpiece-branded caravans.

‘Based on my experience with [the videos], and the influence the Cartwrights have on the caravanning industry, I do not think Masterpiece would survive if the Cartwrights posted negative comments about Masterpiece.’

Mr Raffaello swore that he did not know of any significant events or incidents that could have led to the drop in sales and profitability.

In the same affidavit, he said Masterpiece’s losses exceeded the $1.25million in damages it was claiming.

‘I also note that in 2022 Masterpiece won best manufacturer of the year, and its reputation remained well regarded until the Cartwrights’ conduct.’

Masterpiece says its current claim against the Cartwrights does not concern the defects they originally complained about, which it says were resolved when the family received a full refund, but instead relates to the couple’s subsequent conduct. 

Separately, since the court proceedings became public, other Masterpiece Caravans customers contacted the Daily Mail with complaints of their own.

They raised concerns about alleged electrical faults, leaking roofs, solar panel installation and flooring problems, which are among the issues commonly raised by caravan owners generally. Masterpiece disputes those allegations and maintains there are no unresolved issues relating to its products.

It is not suggested the complaints raised by other customers are evidence of, or connected to, the allegations at issue in the proceedings between Masterpiece Caravans and the Cartwrights.

The Mail provided Masterpiece Caravans with detailed particulars of the complaints prior to publication. The company requested the identities of those customers so it could review its records and ‘advise the true position’.

Through its lawyers, the company said customer concerns are promptly addressed and are ‘always capable of rectification’.

Additionally, Masterpiece rejected suggestions that customers had been refused assistance because warranty periods had expired, saying it would assess caravans and remedy issues irrespective of warranty status.

In 2024, Masterpiece, alongside dealership Newcastle Caravans, faced NCAT proceedings launched by customer Cameron Stewart, whose van was found to have a ‘major failure’ in its flooring.

Mr Stewart successfully argued the caravan he bought for $128,000 was not compliant under the statutory guarantee of acceptable quality under Australian Consumer Law, and constituted a ‘major failure’.

However, NCAT declined to grant Mr Stewart the refund he sought, and instead ordered the dealership, Newcastle Caravans, to carry out a repair. 

A company spokesman told the Mail: ‘We note that Masterpiece was entirely successful in the initial proceedings, and in relation to Mr Stewart’s attempt to appeal.

‘In the premises, we do not believe that this case is indicative of the issues allegedly relating to Masterpiece. Notably, it shows that Masterpiece’s warranty department was in regular contact with a client, despite that client not bringing any claim within the relevant time period.’

The company also said its warranty department had remained in regular contact with Mr Stewart, had sought opportunities to inspect and repair the caravan, and had since complied with all tribunal orders. 

In a further statement, a Masterpiece spokesman said the company ‘prides itself on the quality of its products, construction methods and its relationship with its customers.

‘Our client makes a point of taking active steps to work with any customers and resolve any issues they may be experiencing.

‘While customers do occasionally raise issues from time to time, these are promptly addressed by Masterpiece, and are always capable of rectification. Masterpiece maintains that there are no unresolved issues relating to its products.’

The mother of Henry Nowak’s killer is set to leave prison after serving only a third of her sentence, under Labour’s early-release scheme. She was jailed for removing the murder weapon from the scene.

Kiran Kaur, 53, is expected to be released in December through the controversial programme, which aims to free as many as 50,000 offenders each year.

Kaur is among the highest-profile offenders to benefit from Labour’s early-release policy so far.

She was sentenced to three years in prison on July 17 after being found guilty of assisting an offender.

Kaur is believed to have spent around seven months in custody on remand before sentencing. As a result, she will qualify for release in December after serving one-third of her sentence.

Her son, Vickrum Digwa, stabbed 18-year-old Henry Nowak to death in Southampton on December 3 last year using an eight-inch ceremonial dagger.

Digwa was convicted of murder in June and sentenced to life imprisonment, with a minimum term of 21 years.

Digwa, who is Sikh, did not know the teenager. At the scene, however, he told police that Mr Nowak had shouted racist abuse, punched him and knocked off his turban.

Mr Nowak was arrested while lying in his own blood and later died alone in police custody.

After Digwa and his mother were sentenced, the Crown Prosecution Service released footage showing the moment the killer instructed Kaur to take away the knife used in the attack.

In the footage, recorded on Digwa’s phone and pointed towards the ground, he can be heard speaking to his mother in Punjabi and asking her to remove the weapon.

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A transcript published by the CPS shows Digwa telling Kaur: “Take this.” Prosecutors said he was referring to the knife.

During Kaur’s sentencing at Southampton Crown Court, Judge William Mousley said that by the time Digwa asked her to remove the weapon, “you knew or believed that he had stabbed and injured Henry”.

The judge also told Kaur that “a responsible parent would have challenged their son over their actions and encouraged them to do the right thing”.

Judge Mousley said Kaur took the murder weapon home and placed it alongside a “larger collection of ceremonial and other weapons” in her son’s bedroom.

He said this helped conceal the knife’s use because Kaur wanted her son to “avoid being caught”.

The judge said her actions ‘added to your son’s pretence that he had done nothing wrong and that he was the victim’, and added that she added to the ‘degradation of Henry being arrested when he was dying’.

Prosecuting barrister Nicholas Lobbenberg told the court that the weapon was not found by police until December 10 last year – seven days after the attack.

It remains unclear whether Kaur, an Indian national, will face deportation proceedings, according to ITV News, which first reported Kaur’s impending release.

A Home Office spokesman said: ‘Our thoughts remain with the family and friends of Henry Nowak, whose life was cruelly cut short in a horrific act of violence.

‘We will always seek to deport foreign criminals at the first opportunity.’

Labour’s prison release scheme launched at the start of this month.

From November 10 it will be extended to offenders serving sentences up to three years and three months, meaning Kaur will become eligible.

Labour’s new programme is broader in scope than its previous release scheme, launched in 2024, which saw 70,000 criminals let out early in its first 19 months.

Despite being scheduled for early release, Kaur will appeal against her sentence at the Court of Appeal on November 5.

On the same day the court is due to consider an appeal by Digwa against his sentence, and also decide on a referral from the Attorney General which argued the sentence was too lenient. Digwa is also mounting a separate appeal against his conviction.

A Texas woman convicted of killing a college student in a drunken crash will spend seven years in prison and, after her release, return to jail each year on Christmas and the birthdays of those affected for the next decade.

Lynlee Pollis, 30, killed 19-year-old Southern Methodist University student Honor Wallace and seriously injured Wallace’s friend, 21-year-old Catherine “CeCe” Solberg, in a September 2023 crash in Dallas, Texas.

Earlier this month, Pollis was convicted of intoxication manslaughter and intoxication assault. She received a seven-year prison sentence followed by 10 years of probation.

As part of her probation, Pollis will spend an additional 15 days in jail each year. Those periods will include time around Wallace and Solberg’s birthdays, Pollis’s own birthday, Christmas and the anniversary of the crash.

At the sentencing hearing, the families of Wallace and Solberg criticized Pollis for forcing them to endure a two-week trial, saying a guilty plea could have spared them further pain.

“You were so drunk, and you wouldn’t admit it,” Solberg’s father, Bobby, told the court, according to the Dallas Morning News.

“You made us sit through this trial… We’ve seen no personal accountability from you.”

In his victim impact statement, Wallace’s father said: “You took the most precious gift from us through your selfishness. Own it. Own what you did.”

Pollis was led from the courtroom in handcuffs after the hearing. As she was escorted to jail, she was reportedly seen mouthing “I love you” to members of her family.

Police said Wallace was killed when Pollis crashed into her vehicle as Wallace drove through an intersection on a green light.

Pollis was driving 67 mph in a 35 mph zone and ran a red light that had changed more than five seconds earlier before striking Wallace’s car.

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Wallace sustained fatal injuries and was pronounced dead at a hospital. Solberg, who was sitting in the passenger seat, suffered severe brain trauma.

During the trial, Solberg testified that she continues to experience effects from her injuries, including debilitating migraines.

Prosecutors said Pollis had consumed a significant amount of alcohol before driving. Her blood alcohol level was measured at 0.294%, nearly four times the legal limit.

“This was no accident. This was no mistake,” prosecutor Andrew James said during his closing argument.

“It was predictable consequences of the defendant’s choices.”

Pollis’s attorneys had requested she be sentenced to only probation because she had no prior criminal record, but James said such a sentence would be ‘completely inappropriate’ given the circumstances of the crash. 

Friends of the victims laid into Pollis at her sentencing hearing, with Haley Keller saying she is still haunted by the sight of Solberg in hospital covered in Wallace’s blood. 

‘I couldn’t get the sight of all that blood out of my mind,’ Keller said. ‘Wherever I looked I saw Honor’s blood all over CeCe.’  

Pollis’s father said his daughter had been filled with regret every day since the crash, and said she was on suicide watch for days after the incident as she wished she was the one who died. 

Judith Lucy has revealed that an attempt to cope with her breast cancer diagnosis ended in a painful accident after she mixed alcohol with sleeping medication.

The much-loved Australian comedian said in an Instagram post on Wednesday that she is currently “doing okay” following the diagnosis. However, just nine days after receiving the news, she injured herself after drinking wine and taking sleeping pills.

The 58-year-old shared a graphic image of the aftermath, showing a cut above her eyebrow and significant bruising across her face, along with a lengthy caption.

“I wanted to acknowledge that although I’m currently doing okay with the cancer situation — and I have no doubt the emotional roller coaster will continue — this photo was taken after an ‘event’ nine days after my diagnosis,” she wrote.

“It looks a little like my doctor said, ‘You have cancer,’ and then I decided to punch myself in the face,” Judith added.

“Not an entirely unreasonable reaction, but it was actually caused by combining booze and sleeping pills before doing the tango with a small table.”

Maintaining her trademark dark humour, she recalled her surgeon removing the bandage and offering reassurance: “It just blends in with the other lines on your forehead.” Judith joked, “Thank god my modelling career isn’t over.”

“Obviously, the lesson is don’t combine wine and pills… when you have cancer.” 

Earlier, Judith had posted a candid image from hospital after learning that her shock breast cancer diagnosis meant she would need a mastectomy.

In a Facebook post shared on Saturday, the actress thanked fans for their support and urged women to make regular mammograms a priority.

The photo showed Judith appearing upbeat as she rested in a hospital bed, wrapped in a fluffy white dressing gown and blanket.

She paired the image with the cheeky caption “Fun with cancer!”, showing that her wicked sense of humour remains intact during her health battle.

“This was me last Friday when I found out it was now a mastectomy,” she explained.

“And yes, it’s a bit of a peekaboo shot, so that’s my breast waving goodbye, guys!”

Judith also expressed her gratitude for the messages she had received, while highlighting how lucky she was that the cancer was discovered during a routine screening.

“My jugs and I have been completely overwhelmed by the response, so THANK YOU — and again, GET THEM CHECKED, LADIES,” she wrote.

“You can’t feel my cancer, so without a mammogram I would have been screwed!”

The post comes just days after Judith revealed she had been diagnosed with breast cancer three weeks earlier and was preparing to undergo a double mastectomy.

The comedian broke the news in an Instagram video, explaining that the cancer had been discovered following a mammogram through BreastScreen Australia.

‘On my way home, I got an email from BreastScreen Australia telling me that my mammogram result was a bit weird,’ she said.

‘I’m going to take this opportunity to say ladies, for the love of god, keep up with your mammograms. Anyway, long story short, I’ve got breast cancer.’

Judith explained she had initially expected to undergo a lumpectomy but further cancer was discovered during a subsequent medical appointment, forcing doctors to change their treatment plan.

‘I didn’t want to say anything about it until I knew what was going on,’ she said.

‘I went last Friday for a lumpectomy and a doctor, I’m not making this up, called Dr Fun (Dr. Pei Fun Kwan in Melbourne), found more cancer.

‘So we have gone from a lumpectomy to a mastectomy, which I am having Friday week. I said, while you’re there, let’s get rid of the other one.’

She joked that she had enjoyed ’40 years of large and spectacular breasts’ and was now looking forward to a future without needing a bra.

‘You had your chance fellas,’ she quipped.

‘So I think I’m quite fine with going bra-free for my last chapter, and my last chapter is going to be very long and healthy.’

Judith also reassured fans that doctors had described the cancer as relatively early stage and non-aggressive.

Judith announced her retirement from stand-up comedy in 2022 after 35 years on the road, explaining that she had grown tired of constant touring and wanted to focus on other aspects of her life.