Lisa Wilkinson sues Network Ten over costs in Bruce Lehrmann defamation case

The former host of The Project claims the broadcaster is refusing to pay $700,000 in legal fees stemming from a defamation suit brought by Bruce Lehrmann.

Lisa Wilkinson accepting her Logie for her interview with former Liberal staffer Brittany Higgins.

Lisa Wilkinson is suing Network 10 over claims the TV network backed out of an agreement to cover more than $700,000 in legal costs in a defamation suit brought by former Liberal staffer Bruce Lehrmann.

Mr Lehrmann is suing Wilkinson and Network Ten over an interview with Brittany Higgins that aired on The Project in 2021, which detailed accusations he had raped Ms Higgins in Parliament House, but did not name him as the alleged attacker.

Wilkinson hired top defamation barrister Sue Chrysanthou SC and Gillis Delaney Lawyers partner Anthony Jefferies in February to defend her against Mr Lehrmann’s defamation action, and in doing so, she opted out of using Thomson Geer – a law firm Network 10 has on retainer.

Wilkinson won a Logie for her interview with Ms Higgins in 2021.

In a new suit filed to the NSW Supreme Court, Wilkinson claims Network 10 is unlawfully refusing to pay two invoices - one for $353,538.88 in May, the second for $370,017.00 in September - to cover Ms Chrysanthou and Mr Jefferies’ legal fees.

Court documents filed by Wilkinson’s legal team claim that twice, in March and June this year, the TV network accepted they were liable to indemnify the former host of The Project, even if she was “independently represented”.

Network 10 requested they pay Wilkinson’s court costs in bulk at the end of the defamation trial, which they said would allow them to add on any “costs orders” made in his favour.

Wilkinson’s lawyers argued this approach was unreasonable, as it not only “served to defeat the purpose of the indemnity” but would “leave the plaintiff with the burden of having to find the ways and means to fund her defence of the claim to which she had become exposed as an employee”.

Wilkinson announces her resignation from The Project alongside co-host Hamish McDonald.

“The defendant has still not paid the plaintiff any amount in respect of any item of work or any dollar of cost and expense described in the invoices and narrations provided to the defendant,” documents filed by Wilkinson’s lawyers say.

Wilkinson’s lawyers claim she is willing to attend mediation with Network 10.

Wilkinson’s management company, The Fordham Company, declined to comment. The Australian has contacted Wilkinson for comment.

A spokesperson for Network 10 told The Australian Wilkinson has “issued invoices for a very substantial amount of money, in excess of $700,000, and in good governance these need to be justified through due process.”

“In the meantime, Network 10’s focus is on defending the defamation claim brought by Bruce Lehrmann,” the spokesperson said.

A spokesperson for Mr Lehrmann, who has always denied allegations that he raped Ms Higgins, said: “That is an ongoing internal matter for them, we are focused and very much look forward to clearing Bruce’s name and holding the media to account at the upcoming trial in November.”

While accepting a Logie for the interview in June 2022, Wilkinson made a speech that prompted Mr Lehrmann’s trial to be delayed by three months.

Wilkinson quit The Project in November last year, calling out the “targeted toxicity” of media scrutiny she had encountered following the interview with Ms Higgins and the subsequent Logies speech.

“The last six months have not been easy,” Wilkinson told viewers upon announcing her resignation. “And the relentless targeted toxicity by some sections of the media has taken a toll, not just on me, but on people I love.”

The defamation trial is due to begin on November 22 and will run for four weeks.