Stereosonic founder’s neighbourhood stoush boils over as he’s ordered to pay a close mate $63,000 after banning him from taking photos of his luxury mansion
- Richie McNeill sued by his architect for refusing access to take pictures
- McNeill and company director Nicholas Ruljancich had been close friends
- Magistrate said he was not satisfied with Mr McNeill’s version of events
The co-founder of one of Australia’s biggest music festivals has been ordered to pay very costly damages to a former close friend over a fight about photos of his Melbourne mansion renovation.
Richie McNeill, whose Stereosonic festivals used to draw crowds of up to 200,000 across Australia every summer, must pay $63,778 in damages to architect Nicholas Ruljancich.
Mr Ruljancich, a director of Raidstudio, sued Mr McNeill for not allowing the architecture company access to his home in the ritzy suburb of Toorak to take marketing pictures.
Richie McNeill (pictured) has been ordered to pay more than $63,000 to a former friend
The two-year legal battle between the former friends concluded at Melbourne Magistrates’ Court when magistrate Tim Greenway ruled in favour of Mr Ruljancich.
Mr Ruljancich said he was happy with the outcome but was disappointed he had been denied access to take photos of his work in the first place.
‘We are vindicated by the court’s decision today as it confirms that Raidstudio was, in fact, denied its contractual rights due to Mr McNeill’s breach of contract,’ Mr Ruljancich told the Herald Sun.
‘We are pleased with Mr Greenway’s decision to award damages in lieu of access to the property to photograph the project.’
Daily Mail Australia has attempted to contact Mr McNeill seeking comment on this story.
In his judgement, Mr Greenway said he was not satisfied with Mr McNeill’s version of the situation that led to the case.
Huge crowds attend and revel at Stereosonic Melbourne on December 5, 2015
Mr McNeill had claimed Mr Ruljancich agreed to give copyright of any photos taken of the renovations to the Stereosonic founder.
The alleged phone conversation took place three years before the renovations were complete.
But as follow up emails and text messages made no mention of copyright ownership until after Mr McNeill moved in to the house, prompting the court to rule against him.
Mr McNeill said he wanted to own the copyright of the photos due to privacy concerns including a ‘pesky neighbour’ and a stalker.
The magistrate noted a court order giving Mr Ruljancich access to take the photos would need a level of cooperation which was now unlikely.
‘The parties have been in protracted litigation for approximately two years and have been unable to agree on the terms of access,’ Mr Greenway said.
In the absence of ordering access to take the pictures, Mr Greenway instead ordered Mr McNeill to pay $63,778 in damages to Mr Ruljancich.
The sum would cover the cost of making the computer images that were used instead of photographs for marketing material.
Stereosonic ran from 2007 to 2015, expanding to a two day festival across the five mainland capitals in 2013 – the year the Australian owners Totem Onelove Group sold it to the New York-based SFX Entertainment.
The 2015 Sydney event attracted a crowd of 48,000, with 69 people being charged for drug supply and possession.
A 25-year-old woman became ill at the Sydney show that year and died in hospital from a drug overdose.
Also in 2015, a 19-year-old man died at the Adelaide Stereosonic event.
Despite a claim that it would return ‘bigger and better’, 2015 was the last time the Stereosonic festival was held.
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