Eye watering sum Ten to pay former star Lisa Wilkinson over Lehrmann lawsuit

A judge has ordered that Ten pay a seven figure sum to cover Lisa Wilkinson’s legal costs associated with Bruce Lehrmann’s defamation lawsuit.

Network 10 will have to pay former The Project host Lisa Wilkinson more than $1 million in legal fees. Picture: NewsWire.

Channel 10 will have to stump up an additional $590,000 – and a total of $1.15m – to its former star Lisa Wilkinson to cover her legal costs for the Bruce Lehrmann defamation trial, a judge has ordered.

Justice Michael Lee last year dismissed Mr Lehrmann’s high-stakes lawsuit against Ten and Wilkinson after he found – on the civil standard of the balance of probabilities – that the former political staffer 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.

Lisa Wilkinson will have more than $1 million of her legal bill covered by Network 10. Picture: NewsWire / Monique Harmer

The former The Project host was sued for defamation alongside Network 10, following the airing of an interview with Brittany Higgins where she alleged she was raped by her former colleague inside Parliament House. Picture: NewsWire / David Swift

Ten and Ms Wilkinson were at odds over her legal bill and how much the network should reimburse her after she hired outside counsel, prominent barrister Sue Chrysanthou SC, to defend her separately to the network during the trial.

Ten had already paid $558,548 of Ms Wilkinson’s legal bill.

She had initially sought $1.8m.

And the remainder of her costs were examined by a referee.

Justice Lee on Monday made an order in the Federal Court that Ten pay Ms Wilkinson an additional of $591,000 before March 19.

It takes the total amount to be paid by Ten to its former start to $1.15m

Ms Wilkinson hired prominent barrister Sue Chrysanthou SC to represent her separately to the network. Picture: NewsWire / Damian Shaw

Justice Lee last year ordered that Mr Lehrmann pay Ten $2m, after finding in favour of the broadcaster.

However, he noted there isn’t “any real likelihood” the former Liberal party staffer 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 is appealing to the Full Court of the Federal Court, with the appeal to be heard later this year.

Originally published as Eye watering sum Ten to pay former star Lisa Wilkinson over Lehrmann lawsuit