Ten abandons Lisa Wilkinson in court challenge
The Ten Network has abandoned Lisa Wilkinson in her latest legal foray, refusing to join her bid to overturn a judge’s findings against her in Bruce Lehrmann’s failed defamation case.
Network Ten has abandoned Lisa Wilkinson in her latest legal foray, refusing to join her bid to overturn Justice Michael Lee’s damning findings against her in Bruce Lehrmann’s failed defamation case.
Earlier this week Wilkinson filed a notice of contention in the Federal Court claiming Justice Lee made more than 50 errors in deciding the case, particularly in finding that her conduct in the Brittany Higgins story was improper and unjustifiable.
On Friday, Ten lodged its own notice of contention, relying only on two grounds – that Justice Lee should have found that Mr Lehrmann knew Ms Higgins did not consent to having sex, and that he ought to have found that if it had been necessary to award damages, the appropriate award was nominal or no damages.
The Weekend Australian understands Ten warned Wilkinson before she lodged her notice that it would not fund her challenge, which could involve lengthy and costly proceedings.
Ten is already playing hardball on reimbursing the $1.8m in legal fees its former star presenter ran up in defending the mammoth case with separate legal representation led by top defamation silk Sue Chrysanthou SC.
Ms Chrysanthou billed Wilkinson $8000 for each full day in court, along with charging her $800 an hour for preparation, conferences, advices and travelling time.
Ten wants the former Project host to pay for all aspects of the case where it wasn’t necessary for her to have separate representation.
Mr Lehrmann has lodged an appeal against the judgment but, in a new development, Ten has demanded a $200,000 security payment from him for its costs, claiming the appeal has little prospect of success as it raises no substantial questions of law.
In a letter to Mr Lehrmann the network says the combined legal costs for both it and Wilkinson for the defamation case to date “are likely, in aggregate, to exceed $4m”, a figure far less than the $10m figure frequently cited.
The network says it is “extremely concerned that you will not be able to pay our client’s costs of the appeal if ordered to do so”.
“We assume that there is no dispute that you currently have no capacity to pay the existing liabilities referred to above, let alone any costs which may be ordered against you in the appeal. Please confirm if that assumption is incorrect.”
The network says if Mr Lehrmann declines to provide the security voluntarily, it will file an application with the court ordering him to do so. Mr Lehrmann rejected the demand, telling Ten in a letter: “I am firmly of the view that my appeal grounds have significant legal merits and are of high public interest.”
In April, Justice Lee found that on the balance of probabilities Mr Lehrmann raped Ms Higgins in Parliament House in 2019.
But he also found Ten and Wilkinson had failed in their defence of qualified privilege – that is, they had failed to act fairly and reasonably in the preparation and aftermath of the story.
Justice Lee said Wilkinson had demonstrated “a lack of candour” in the witness box, and he was highly critical of the program’s suggestion the rape had been the subject of cover-up to avoid a political scandal in the lead-up to a federal election.
But Wilkinson said the judge had erred in rejecting testimony from her, including that she had relied upon her producers.
Ten wants any further legal action confined to matters raised by Mr Lehrmann’s appeal and to ensure the truth defence is upheld, rather than trying to re-fight the failed qualified privilege defence.
With Wilkinson and Ten still unable to come to an agreement on costs, the issue is likely to be determined by a referee tasked with examining the breakdown of invoices and deciding which party pays what.
The questions to be determined by the referee will be argued by the parties when the case returns to court on Thursday.
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