The man accused of defaming the long-time David Bain supporter, Joe Karam, says he doesn't have the one-and-a-quarter million dollars being sought in damages if the court case doesn't go his way.
Kent Parker, who is one of two men at the centre of a defamation case that concluded in the High Court in Auckland on Monday, said he had no way of raising the funds.
Joe Karam. Photo: RNZ
Mr Karam alleged the two men organised a relentless assault on his integrity.
Mr Karam's lawyer Michael Reed, QC, made a closing address in the defamation case against Robin Bain supporters Kent Parker and Victor Purkiss on Monday.
Mr Reed said members of Joe Karam's family had been reduced to tears as they described the hurt of the online attacks against him.
He said as well as a permanent injunction against a website run by the men, Mr Karam is also seeking $1.25 million in damages.
Mr Reed told the court that Kent Parker had not even bothered to read Mr Karam's books on the Bain case, was trying to boost his public profile because he wanted to go into politics, and his apology to Mr Karam during the six-day hearing had come too late.
Mr Reed said Mr Parker and Mr Purkiss' statements amounted to a cold calculated character assassination.
Mr Parker said he doesn't have the money if the case doesn't go his way, and has no way of raising the funds.
David Bain was found not guilty at a retrial in 2009 of the murders of his family in Dunedin in 1994. Joe Karam fought to overturn the convictions during the years Mr Bain spent in prison before being acquitted.
Justice Courtenay reserved her decision.
