The Western Bulldogs' landmark $5.9 million payout to an abuse survivor has been more than halved, but the rest of the AFL club's appeal was thrown out with the man's lawyers claiming victory.
Adam Kneale's jury-determined payout in 2023, after finding the club negligent for the abuse he suffered at the hands of volunteer Graeme Hobbs, became the highest award to an abuse survivor in Australia.
Hobbs first sexually abused Mr Kneale when he was 11 or 12 at an administration building at the club's home ground in 1984.
A jury of six awarded him $5,943,151 in damages, including $3,250,000 for Mr Kneale's pain and suffering.
The Bulldogs, known as Footscray when the abuse occurred, appealed against the jury's verdict and the amount they were ordered to pay Mr Kneale.
The club's lawyers argued "red flags" reported to leadership about Hobbs, including he was a "sleazy character" in a trench coat, were not evidence enough to prove he would go on to commit child sexual abuse.
The Court of Appeal, by a two-out-of-three majority, rejected the Bulldogs' verdict appeal on Thursday.
However, the judges found the jury's award of $3.25 million for pain and suffering was "excessive" and reduced it to $850,000.
The court also reassessed Mr Kneale's $2.6 million award for loss of past and future earnings down to $1.7 million, as the jury's award was "founded on speculation".
"All in all, it is a tragic situation," Justices David Beach and John Forrest said in their judgment.
Justice Karin Emertin disagreed with her fellow judges' finding on the jury verdict and allowed the club's appeal on that ground.
"In my view, it was not open to the jury to conclude that Footscray knew or ought to have known of the reasonably foreseeable risk of injury that Hobbs posed to young boys who attended the Western Oval in the 1980s," she said in a separate judgment.
Bulldogs barrister Geraldine Gray asked for the club to be given 28 days to pay out the new $2,637,573 award, which was permitted by the court with interest, bringing it to about $2.9 million.
The court also ordered the club to pay 70 per cent of their appeal costs.
Outside court, Mr Kneale's lawyers said the majority ruling to dismiss the verdict appeal was a win.
"The Western Bulldogs allowed a pedophile to freely roam the premises, groom kids, abuse kids and destroy lives, and now the Bulldogs are going to pay a hefty price for that failure," Rightside Legal's Michael Magazanik said outside court.
Mr Kneale's team expected some reduction as $5.9 million was higher than lawyers had asked for at trial, but the Bulldogs had fought "tooth and nail to avoid paying Adam Kneale a single cent", Mr Magazanik said.
"The general damages figure is now $850,000, which is still the highest figure awarded in Australian legal history for a survivor of sexual abuse," he said.
"Adam's created legal history, he has the Victorian Court of Appeal - the highest court in the state - awarding him a record figure for pain and suffering damages."
The Bulldogs welcomed Thursday's decision, pointing to Justice Emerton's dissenting judgment which it said found the jury decision "should not have deemed the club liable in any way".
"The club would like to again express its sorrow at the suffering endured by Mr Kneale at the time and acknowledge the pain which he continues to carry because of the trauma he has experienced," a spokesman said.
1800 RESPECT (1800 737 732)
National Sexual Abuse and Redress Support Service 1800 211 028
