Bruce Lehrmann ordered to pay Ten $2m in legal costs after failed defamation case
Bruce Lehrmann has been ordered to pay an eye-watering amount following his defamation suit loss to Network 10.
Bruce Lehrmann has been ordered to pay $2m to Network 10 following his bruising defamation suit loss – however, he is unlikely to be able to stump up the eye-watering sum, a court has been told.
Mr Lehrmann was dealt a devastating blow when Justice Michael Lee dismissed the former Liberal staffer’s high-stakes lawsuit and found – on the balance of probabilities – that he had raped Brittany Higgins inside Parliament House in March 2019.
Mr Lehrmann sued Ten and journalist Lisa Wilkinson, claiming he had been defamed by a The Project interview in which Ms Higgins alleged she was raped by a colleague after a night out drinking in Canberra.
Justice Lee found it was more likely than not that Mr Lehrmann was “hellbent on having sex” with Ms Higgins and that “he did not care one way or another whether (she) understood or agreed to what was going on”.
The parties returned to the Federal Court on Thursday as Ten and Ms Wilkinson seek payment for their legal bills from Mr Lehrmann.
Justice Lee ordered that Mr Lehrmann pay Ten $2m for the failed lawsuit, though he noted Mr Lehrmann was a man of “modest means”.
“It is common ground that the applicant (Mr Lehrmann) is a man of modest means,” Justice Lee told the court on Thursday.
He noted that there isn’t “any real likelihood” he would be in a position to pay.
The court was previously told Mr Lehrmann could be forced into bankruptcy if he couldn’t meet the costs order.
Mr Lehrmann had not been employed since mid-2021 and is now a law student, the court was told.
Ten had estimated its total legal costs for running the case were $3.66m, however applied a 35 per cent discount as it sought the lump sum.
Solicitor Paul Svilans, acting for Mr Lehrmann, said his client neither opposed nor consented to any lump sum order.
The court was told Ten’s barrister, Matt Collins KC, had charged $11,000 per day during the trial.
Justice Lee described Dr Collins’ daily rate to be appropriate considering his experience.
“It is at the top of the range of fees charged by members of the defamation bar but given his seniority and experience in the area, it is to be expected,” Justice Lee said.
“It doesn’t strike me as anything other than an amount which would be appropriately recoverable.”
The court was told that Network 10 had initially offered to pay Ms Wilkinson $607,850 for her legal costs; however, Ten’s position was that amount was more than they thought was recoverable.
The court was told that Ten was now willing to pay $558,000 to Ms Wilkinson for her legal fees.
An independent referee will determine the final amount.
Ms Wilkinson elected to hire outside counsel, high-profile barrister Sue Chrysanthou SC, to represent her during the trial.
Following his loss, Mr Lehrmann was ordered to pay Ms Wilkinson’s costs on an indemnity basis.
Ten is required to cover some of her costs that are “reasonable” and “properly incurred”.
The court was previously told Ms Wilkinson had initially sought $1.8m from Network 10.
The matter is still yet to be finalised, with the amount to be paid by Lehrmann to Ms Wilkinson for her legal bills to be referred to an independent referee for quantification.
Mr Lehrmann faced trial in the ACT Supreme Court after he pleaded not guilty to one count of sexual intercourse without consent before his trial was abandoned due to juror misconduct in 2022.
The Director of Public Prosecutions dropped the charge and chose not to pursue a retrial because of concern for Ms Higgins’ wellbeing.
He has continued to maintain his innocence and has lodged an appeal against Justice Lee’s decision to dismiss his defamation suit.
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