Sydney COVID-19 outbreak forces Roberts-Smith case delay Share The growing Sydney outbreak of the highly contagious delta variant of coronavirus has forced a minimum one-month delay to Ben Roberts-Smith’s high profile defamation action against Nine Entertainment. On Tuesday, Justice Anthony Besanko adjourned the matter until July 19 – in three weeks – when the court will determine whether the trial can resume a week later. “I am not persuaded that a potential, stop-start approach to the respondents’ case is necessary or desirable,” Justice Besanko said on Tuesday. Ben Roberts-Smith outside the Federal Court in Sydney on Monday. The parties did not appear in court in person on Tuesday.