Judge rules on multimillion-dollar costs of Lehrmann case

1 week ago 9

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The justice who presided implicit Bruce Lehrmann’s multimillion-dollar defamation lawsuit is acceptable to present his determination connected the ineligible costs Lehrmann volition beryllium ordered to screen aft losing the lawsuit.

Federal Court Justice Michael Lee indicated earlier this period that helium would bid Lehrmann to wage immoderate of Network Ten’s ineligible costs aft it successfully defended Lehrmann’s suit against the web and Lisa Wilkinson implicit an interrogation with Brittany Higgins aired connected The Project successful February 2021.

Bruce Lehrmann leaves the Federal Court successful Sydney aft losing his defamation lawsuit connected April 15.

Lee volition connected Friday day regularisation connected whether the bid volition beryllium made connected an indemnity basis, which covers astir 90 per cent of a winning party’s ineligible bill, oregon the mean basis, which results successful a palmy enactment recouping astir 70 per cent of their costs.

Ten had urged Lee to grant indemnity costs, arguing that Lehrmann brought the defamation lawsuit “on a deliberately wicked and calculated basis”.

Justice Michael Lee recovered that connected the equilibrium of probabilities Lehrmann had raped Brittany Higgins successful Parliament House successful March 2019.

Ten said successful written submissions that the litigation could beryllium described, “with the payment of hindsight … arsenic a wide maltreatment of process aimed astatine concealing the information that Mr Lehrmann raped Ms Higgins”.

In enactment of an indemnity costs order, Ten besides argued that Lehrmann had unreasonably rejected a “walk away” connection successful August past twelvemonth nether which the proceedings would person been dismissed without immoderate admittance of liability and without immoderate costs order.

Lehrmann’s constricted means

The tribunal heard Lehrmann has been unemployed since June 2021 and is simply a instrumentality student, and determination is simply a anticipation helium volition beryllium tipped into bankruptcy. It means the costs bid is apt to beryllium world due to the fact that Lehrmann does not person the fiscal means to conscionable it.

The Federal Court heard connected Wednesday that Lehrmann had a no-win, no-fee statement with his ain lawyers, nether which helium was not obliged to wage their costs unless helium won the case.

The combined ineligible costs of the case, including Lehrmann’s lawyers’ bills, are estimated to apical $10 million.

Wilkinson’s costs

Wilkinson, who helmed the interrogation with Higgins, briefed abstracted lawyers to correspond her successful the case, though the tribunal has heard that Ten’s lawyers took the pb connected the parties’ palmy information defence.

Given the unlikelihood of Wilkinson recovering immoderate costs from Lehrmann, her leader Ten volition wage astatine slightest immoderate of Wilkinson’s ineligible bills nether an indemnity covering costs “properly incurred and tenable successful amount”.

Lisa Wilkinson extracurricular the Federal Court aft the judgement was delivered past month.

Appeal deadline

Lehrmann has until May 31 to record immoderate announcement of entreaty against Lee’s determination connected April 15 to disregard his suit implicit an interrogation with Brittany Higgins, broadcast connected Ten’s The Project connected February 15, 2021, and helmed by Wilkinson. He had claimed the study defamed him by suggesting helium was blameworthy of intersexual assault.

Lee recovered Ten and Wilkinson had proven to the civilian modular – connected the equilibrium of probabilities – that Lehrmann had raped Higgins successful Parliament House successful March 2019 erstwhile they were moving arsenic staffers to Liberal legislator Linda Reynolds, who was past the defence manufacture minister. This is little than the transgression modular of beyond tenable doubt.

The justice recovered that the parties would not person been capable to trust connected a fall-back defence of qualified privilege if their information defence had not been successful.

Qualified privilege is simply a defence relating to publications of nationalist involvement which requires media outlets and their journalists to amusement they acted reasonably. Lee recovered Ten and Wilkinson had not acted reasonably.

At a costs proceeding aft his judgment, Lee said helium had “made it perfectly plain” that Ten and Wilkinson fell “well abbreviated of a modular of reasonableness” due to the fact that of the “credulous way” they reported Higgins’ allegation.