Bruce Lehrmann will launch another legal attack in an attempt to put off paying $2 million in legal costs as he appeals a defamation finding that he raped Brittany Higgins.
Appearing before the Federal Court for a brief hearing on Thursday, the 29-year-old’s solicitor Zali Burrows foreshadowed he would try to postpone a court order forcing him to pay Network Ten’s hefty bill after his defamation loss.
The broadcaster is also seeking orders that Lehrmann pay $200,000 as security in the appeal to cover any further legal bill if it again emerges the victor.
Justice Wendy Abraham scheduled a hearing for both applications on October 14.
Lehrmann’s decision not to try to stay the $2 million costs bill in June could mean his bid to do so now was rejected, she noted.
Ten’s barrister Tim Senior told the court the ex-Liberal staffer’s legal bid complicated matters because his client had already started separate proceedings to enforce the court’s costs order.
The 29-year-old is attempting to overturn a Federal Court judgment that found Ten did not defame him when it effectively outed him as a rapist.
Justice Michael Lee in April ruled, on the balance of probabilities, that Lehrmann sexually assaulted Ms Higgins in Parliament House in March 2019.
Lehrmann’s notice of appeal, which he signed without any lawyers, claims he was denied procedural fairness in his case against Ten.
He says that because of deficiencies in Ms Higgins’ evidence, Justice Lee should not have found he engaged in rape.
The 29-year-old recently retained Ms Burrows, who told Justice Abraham he was also seeking a new barrister to represent him at an upcoming appeal hearing.
Ten has filed its own notice of contention claiming the judge should have also found Lehrmann engaged in the sexual assault knowing – rather than merely being indifferent to the fact – Ms Higgins did not consent.
The network and journalist Lisa Wilkinson, who was also sued, have sought orders that Lehrmann pay $200,000 to the court before his appeal is allowed to proceed.
If he does not pay up, they say the appeal should be dismissed.
The Federal Court previously heard the ex-Liberal staffer had no financial backers and was unlikely to be able to pay the $2 million in legal costs sought by Ten after defending the case.
Ten has also agreed to cover Wilkinson’s legal bill for retaining separate counsel as long as those costs were reasonable.
Any of these additional costs will also be foisted on Lehrmann to pay.
Wilkinson has also filed her own notice of contention challenging Justice Lee’s dismissal of a qualified privilege defence claiming she acted reasonably along with Ten in publishing her report.
The judge found there was no proper analysis of Ms Higgins’ claims, including that the rape had been covered up by the Liberal Party ahead of a federal election.
Lehrmann has always denied the sexual assault and is not facing any criminal charges over the incident after his trial was aborted due to juror misconduct.
