Robert Ovadia drops lawsuit against Seven Network

Fired veteran crime reporter Robert Ovadia has dropped his high-profile lawsuit against his former employer, Seven Network, after he was fired for “inappropriate conduct”.

Ovadia’s attorney John Laxon told this press release Friday afternoon that he was ending the action for personal reasons.

“While he strongly rejects the allegations of serious misconduct against him, his family can no longer bear the emotional and financial toll of continuing the legal action and I fully understand his position,” Laxon said.

Since he was fired by Seven in June for “inappropriate conduct,” 13 women have filed complaints against Ovadia, Seven alleged last week during the initial hearing of his wrongful termination case in federal court.

In a statement after the hearing, Ovadia said: “The allegations are baseless and Seven has never provided any evidence, despite repeated requests. Even today there is no evidence to support this.”

The court was told that Ovadia was fired after sending “a number of inappropriate photos by text and email” to a former producer and sending a photo of men’s genitals to a colleague.

“Those emails and messages were all provided” to Ovadia, said Seven’s lawyer Vanja Bulut.

Ovadia launched a federal lawsuit in August against Seven Network and his former boss, news and current affairs director Anthony De Ceglie, alleging he was wrongfully dismissed. He sought compensation and an order that Seven reinstate him.

In court documents released last week, Ovadia alleged that Seven fired him “in bad faith and unreasonably.”