ERROL PARKER | Editor-at-large | Contact
Network Ten has lost their bid to force unpopular law student Bruce Lehrmann to put up $200 000 in security to cover their legal fees in the upcoming appeal against the landmark defamation case.
The nation’s poorest broadcaster and Lisa Wilkinson successfully defended Bruce Lehrmann’s defamation lawsuit regarding an interview with Brittany Higgins, which aired on The Project in 2021. Lehrmann claimed the segment falsely implied he was guilty of raping Higgins at Parliament House in 2019. However, in April, Federal Court Justice Michael Lee ruled that Ten and Wilkinson had sufficiently proven the broadcast’s claims to be true on the balance of probabilities, leading to the dismissal of the case.
This ruling was based on the civil standard of proof, which is lower than the criminal standard of beyond reasonable doubt. Lehrmann’s criminal trial was abandoned in 2022 due to juror misconduct, and a retrial did not occur because of concerns over Higgins’ mental health. Lehrmann has consistently maintained his innocence throughout the legal proceedings.
Which has lead to the appeal, which lawyers for Network 10 fear they will not be paid to defend in the event the big chungus’ appeal fails and the judgement is upheld.
The defamation trial, or lawyer’s picnic, as already cost parties millions upon millions of dollars. Not including another landmark defamation case where a group of sick, twisted lefties took down Victoria Cross recipient Ben Roberts-Smith; a case which cost tens of millions of dollars to get to the bottom of.
At the end of the day, or trial, the only real winners are the lawyers.
Network Ten’s lawyers are understandably nervous. Should the appeal fall over, Big Chungus can simply declare bankruptcy and sail off into the distance, toward court in Toowoomba, while countless lawyers and Senior Counsels are left to pick up the pieces.
It’s understood by The Advocate that in lieu of money being deposited into a trust account, Network Ten’s security for the upcoming appeal is said to be all the copper wiring inside their Pyrmont headquarters.
More to come.
