Former One Nation senator Rod Culleton has lost his appeal over being declared bankrupt, capping off a bad day after the High Court earlier ruled he was ineligible to run for parliament in the first place.
Mr Culleton was deemed bankrupt in December after he refused to comply with a 2013 WA District Court order to pay former Wesfarmers director Dick Lester $205,536 - which has since increased to about $280,000 - over a soured 2009 land rent deal.
In the Federal Court in Perth on Friday, Mr Culleton's appeal was dismissed and he was ordered to pay costs.
The judges said Mr Culleton's submissions were unfocused and erratic, and he did not assert in them that he was solvent.
He declined to speak with media outside, but his chief of staff Margaret Menzel said he was disappointed with the judgment.
"Today, a good deal of democracy has died," Ms Menzel told reporters.
Mr Lester said the protracted legal battle had felt torturous and had cost him $1.6 million when he stopped counting a year ago.
"Since then, I've been paying in the order of $2000-$5000 a month on just dealing with the various appeals and stays that have been coming towards us," he said.
"But when you're on a road like this, there is no turning - you've just got to keep going."
Mr Lester said he had no doubt Mr Culleton would apply to the High Court to seek leave to appeal again, but doubted he would succeed.
Mr Lester said he had at one stage written off the debt and simply vowed never to do business with Mr Culleton again.
But he became determined to pursue the matter when Mr Culleton served legal papers on him in 2010, claiming $580,000 in damages over a grain deal Mr Lester had cancelled.
Mr Lester said he was taken aback when the previous year, Mr Culleton - who claimed to be a champion of farmers - told him he squirrelled away two per cent of his turnover for a legal fund to fight farmers.
"He said to me 'when you buy grain from farmers and they want payment, well, you threaten them with legal action and they go away'," Mr Lester said.
"I realised that this was happening to me. That this legal action he was threatening me with was coming out of this fund.
"And I thought 'I have to do something here. We have to do what's right to allow truth and right to come forward'.
"And I believe it has. I believe there are many farmers who have been wronged by Mr Culleton."
