Bruce Lehrmann ought to foot the multimillion-dollar authorized invoice from his failed defamation case for improperly making an attempt to cover his misdeeds, Community Ten says.
The 28-year-old spectacularly misplaced his Federal Courtroom defamation case in opposition to Ten and journalist Lisa Wilkinson earlier in April.
In a transfer claimed by Ten to have been “intentionally depraved and calculated,” Lehrmann alleged a February 2021 report on The Mission ruined his repute by falsely claiming he raped Brittany Higgins in a Parliament Home workplace virtually two years earlier.
Justice Michael Lee discovered, on the steadiness of chances, Lehrmann had raped Ms Higgins as a result of she had been too intoxicated to consent.
In submissions made public on Tuesday, the ex-Liberal staffer’s barrister David Helvadjian stated the courtroom ought to resolve how authorized prices had been break up among the many events.
However Mr Helvadjian contended that Lehrmann nonetheless acted moderately in bringing the lawsuit to vindicate his repute, regardless of the loss.
“(The) allegation was of significant prison conduct, the allegation had not been established in any prison proceedings, the respondents bore the onus of proof, and (Lehrmann) disputed the reality of the allegation,” he wrote.
Ten and Wilkinson had additionally not confirmed they’d acted moderately in producing the report after failing to research quite a few shortcomings in claims put ahead by Ms Higgins, Mr Helvadjian stated.
Her allegations that had been rejected by Justice Lee included claims of a authorities cover-up of the rape.
Regardless of the warning indicators, Wilkinson and Ten producer Angus Llewellyn proceeded with an “lively ignorance” in operating the total story, Mr Helvadjian stated.
This meant Ten and Wilkinson must be on the hook for a minimum of a part of Lehrmann’s prices, the barrister added.
Ten has rejected this, arguing its defence was not “doomed to fail”.
The community’s barrister Matt Collins KC wrote that Lehrmann’s conduct was so dangerous in bringing the lawsuit that he must be hit with indemnity prices.
“Mr Lehrmann introduced this continuing on a intentionally depraved and calculated foundation,” he wrote.
“He put Community Ten to the price of defending this continuing, which could be, with the advantage of hindsight, described as a transparent abuse of course of aimed toward concealing the reality that Mr Lehrmann raped Ms Higgins.”
The 28-year-old introduced the lawsuit on a false foundation to rehabilitate his repute, the barrister added.
“Mr Lehrmann engaged in an abuse of the courtroom’s processes, ran a case primarily based on optimistic falsities, and put Community Ten to the price of defending a baseless continuing.”
Lehrmann additionally unreasonably rejected a “stroll away” settlement supply made by Ten in August 2023 regardless of a really actual prospect his case would fail, Dr Collins wrote.
“It should have been obvious to Mr Lehrmann, as on the date of the supply, that the chickens had been coming residence to roost.”
Below the supply, Ten proposed that every get together would consent to dismiss the case and bear their very own authorized prices.
Wilkinson’s barrister Sue Chrysanthou SC argued Lehrmann must also foot the authorized invoice for her shopper given his “extremely disreputable conduct”.
“Ms Wilkinson has obtained judgment in her favour, and the applicant has wholly failed,” she wrote.
The prices listening to will probably be heard earlier than Justice Lee on Might 1.
1800 RESPECT (1800 737 732)
Nationwide Sexual Abuse and Redress Assist Service 1800 211 028
