Network Ten will try to shut down an appeal from ex-Liberal staffer Bruce Lehrmann as he fights a defamation loss and civil court findings that he raped Brittany Higgins.
A court will today take the first steps in the 29-year-old’s attempt to overturn a Federal Court judgment that found the broadcaster 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 Higgins in Parliament House in March 2019.
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His appeal is due to come before the full court for the first time for a brief case-management hearing.
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 Higgins’ evidence, Justice Lee should not have found he engaged in rape.
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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 that 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 $2 million in legal costs sought by Ten after defending the case.
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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 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.
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