Gordon Wood, the man who was convicted then acquitted of murdering his girlfriend Caroline Byrne, will for the first time give evidence in court by way of his case against the state for malicious prosecution and false imprisonment.
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Mr Wood chose not to enter the witness box during his 2007 committal hearing, two 2008 Supreme Court trials or 2012 appeal hearing.
However the former chauffer to the late flamboyant stockbroker Rene Rivkin will give "lengthy oral evidence" in his civil case, which is expected to be heard in early 2016.
In a directions hearing in the NSW Supreme Court on Tuesday, Mr Wood's barrister Sue Chrysanthou said her client would give evidence to support his claim for estimated lost earning capacity due to his arrest and incarceration in the amount of $8.9 to $17.8 million.
Ms Chrysanthou said Mr Wood has not been able to find work since he was sensationally acquitted of Ms Byrne's murder in 2012.
At the time of his arrest in London in April 2006 he was earning between $400,000 and $800,000 a year running a consultancy business, she said.
Mr Wood is suing the state for malicious prosecution, abuse of process, false imprisonment and misfeasance in public office. Such cases are notoriously difficult to prove.
Mr Wood claims key people including the detectives who investigated the case, Detective Inspector Paul Jacob, Inspector Brian Wyver and Sergeant Mark Powderly as well as Senior Crown Prosecutor Mark Tedeschi QC and expert witness Associate Professor Rod Cross were malicious in prosecuting him "regardless of his guilt or innocence".
He also says the then Director of Public Prosecutions Nicholas Cowdery "acted in bad faith" and misconducted himself in deciding to commence and continue the case.
The State denies the claims of malice on behalf of all those named and the claim of misfeasance in public office against Mr Cowdery.
Mr Wood spent three and a half years in jail until he successfully appealed his conviction. The three-judge appeal panel was unanimous in finding that there was insufficient evidence to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that Mr Wood had killed Ms Byrne.
The 24-year-old model's body was found at the base of cliffs at The Gap, in Sydney's east, in the early hours of June 8, 1995.
Mr Wood is also claiming $483,819 spent defending himself at trial, $198,769 spent on his appeal and $355,784 in costs resulting from his arrest and false imprisonment.
He is expected to settle his defamation claim against News Corp Australia. He previously settled with the Seven Network for an undisclosed sum.
On Tuesday Justice Peter Garling ordered the defendants hand over any documents containing communications, whether in writing or electronically, between police, employees of the Solicitor for Public Prosecutions or any member of the staff of the DPP including Crown prosecutors, and Professor Cross insofar as those communications relate to, or touch upon, the death of Ms Byrne. The matter will return to court in February.
