Lisa Wilkinson and Ten sweating on December 18 resolution
Can Lisa Wilkinson’s hopes for pay day bring to a tidy and happy closure her seven years at Ten?
Lisa Wilkinson’s two-year battle with network Ten could continue after her contract lapses on December 31.
Legal sources claim Wilkinson may potentially have a case against Ten over their treatment of her and any loss of reputation she suffered as a result of her tenure at the network.
Seven years after signing a record-setting contract with the Ten network making The Project presenter the most highly paid woman on Australian television, the journalist will be out of contract and free to speak openly about the issues that ultimately soured her relationship with Ten.
Chief among those issues is her legal battle for costs against the broadcaster that remains unresolved and returns to court on December 18.
If the court’s cost findings don’t go Wilkinson’s way she will be free to appeal the decision.
Wilkinson has spent the past year attempting to recover over $1.8 million in costs after hiring her own legal team to defend Bruce Lehrmann’s defamation action against Wilkinson and Ten - which he lost.
Earlier this year Ten offered Wilkinson a “compromise” payment of $558,000.
Lawyers representing the two parties are due back in court this month when Justice Michael Lee is set to hand down his decision on costs.
Wilkinson launched a civil claim against Ten at the start of the year after a court found it was “reasonable” for her to retain defamation silk Sue Chrysanthou and assisting counsel.
She took the action after losing confidence in Ten which refused to detail legal advice it had given its star interviewer in relation to a Logies acceptance speech Wilkinson gave in 2022.
Wilkinson told the court her speech had been legalled by Ten and documents tendered to the court showed Ten’s senior litigator Tasha Smithies and CEO Beverley McGarvey had both approved Wilkinson’s speech before it was delivered.
The court heard the first draft and minor edits had also been made in conjunction with the network’s senior legal officer, Myles Farley.
The speech subsequently sparked a delay in Lehrmann’s criminal trial which was later abandoned due to juror misconduct.
Sources close to Wilkinson say she has been overwhelmed with support from her former colleagues at Ten who have been appalled at the situation between her and the network.
Wilkinson was approached for comment.