SYDNEY - Both scientists and creationists claimed victory last night after judgment day in the Sydney legal crusade between a leading geologist and a church elder over the existence of Noah's Ark.
Prof Ian Plimer of Melbourne University used consumer protection laws to sue Dr Allen Roberts for "misleading and deceptive" conduct.
Justice Ronald Sackville in the Federal Court ruled that Roberts, who claimed to have found the Ark in eastern Turkey, had made false representations during a national lecture tour in 1992. But the judge rejected Prof Plimer's argument that Dr Roberts acted in trade and commerce, which in a legal sense was the nub of the case.
Prof Plimer's action was dismissed, although Dr Roberts was found to have breached copyright of a former creationist's book. He was ordered to pay a modest £1,300 in damages.