Brittany Higgins has declared the High Court’s refusal to hear Bruce Lehrmann’s appeal against his devastating defamation suit loss to Network 10 and Lisa Wilkinson the end of a “long and painful chapter”.
The High Court on Thursday refused Mr Lehrmann special leave to appeal after a Federal Court found, on the balance of probabilities, that he raped Ms Higgins, a former colleague, inside Parliament House in March 2019.
“Special leave refused with costs,” the High Court said in a short judgment published on its website on Thursday.
It brings the long-running saga to a close, with Mr Lehrmann having now exhausted all his appeal options.
The former Liberal staffer launched the defamation suit against Ten and Ms Wilkinson over Ms Higgins’ interview with The Project in February 2021, during which she alleged she was raped by a colleague inside the office of her then boss, Senator Linda Reynolds, after a night out drinking.
In a landmark decision, Justice Michael Lee found that it was more likely than not that Mr Lehrmann was “hellbent on having sex” with her and “did not care one way or another whether Ms Higgins understood or agreed to what was going on.”
Mr Lehrmann has consistently denied the allegations, and argued that he had no sexual contact with his colleague that evening.
Mr Lehrmann appealed to the Full Court of the Federal Court.
However Justices Michael Wigney, Craig Colvin and Wendy Abraham made findings against Mr Lehrmann which went beyond those made by Justice Lee.
The Full Court of the Federal Court, in its findings, said Justice Lee should have found Mr Lehrmann had “actual knowledge” that Ms Higgins was not consenting.
The court also upheld the “devastating findings” about Mr Lehrmann’s lack of credibility.
Mr Lehrmann then attempted to appeal to the High Court, arguing Justice Lee conducted his “own research” and relied on nonlegal material, including academic papers.
Ten argued Justice Lee only referred to those nonlegal papers in reference to legal arguments.
As well, Justice Lee wrote in his judgment: “I am not to rely on matters not in evidence.”
The High Court on Thursday rejected Mr Lehrmann’s application for special leave to appeal, the first step which must be granted before an appeal is allowed to be heard in the High Court.
HIGGINS SPEAKS OUT
In a statement to NewsWire, Ms Higgins said the decision by the High Court “brings a measure of finality to a long and painful chapter.
“It’s important to acknowledge what has happened here,” she said.
“The person who raped me used the legal system for years in a bid to silence my voice – the voice of his victim – and the journalists and media who reported my story.
“Sadly, this isn’t a rare occurrence. The only thing that made my case any different to that of many other Australians is that it took place under the full glare of the media spotlight.”
Ms Higgins said she was one of many women who had been retraumatised by the legal system, and declared she would continue advocating for change.
“Defamation claims brought by perpetrators of violence against women retraumatise victim-survivors, who have already endured profound personal violation, and extend the harm we suffer,” she said.
“I hope this moment prompts a broader reflection on how our legal system can better protect those who come forward, better protect the free speech of victim-survivors and journalists, and how we might prevent the legal system from being used as a tool of continued harm.
“My focus now is on healing and advocating for a legal system that treats victim-survivors with the care, respect and protection they deserve.”
LISA WILKINSON RESPONDS
Ms Wilkinson took to Instagram on Thursday night to share her own statement in the aftermath of Mr Lehrmann’s court loss.
“Over the last five years, this case has taken a huge toll on all involved, particularly Ms Higgins,” Ms Wilkinson wrote.
“It has also taken millions of dollars to achieve this court result, of which Mr Lehrmann will likely never pay more than a few cents.
“I am relieved that we have made it to this final result, and am thankful to my legal team and all those who supported me along the way.”
LEHRMANN FACES $2.5M BILL
It also means that Mr Lehrmann is facing a massive legal bill for Ten and Wilkinson’s court costs, including $2m for the Federal Court trial and an estimated $500,000 for the Full Court appeal.
He was also ordered on Thursday to pay Wilkinson and Ten’s legal costs for the High Court appeal.
It leaves Mr Lehrmann, who the court previously heard was an unemployed student, facing bankruptcy.
Before Mr Lehrmann launched his appeal to the Full Court of the Federal Court, he resisted an application by Ten that he stump up a $200,000 surety.
He was ultimately allowed to proceed with the appeal without paying the surety.
At the time, Mr Lehrmann’s solicitor Zali Burrows told the court that Mr Lehrmann’s only prospect of making money to pay the surety was to go on OnlyFans.
“It’s a bit rich to ask him to put up $200,000 when they are one of the contributors to why he is pretty much unemployable,” Ms Burrows told the court at the time.
“The only shot he’d probably ever have in making money is by going on OnlyFans or something silly like that.”
In his now often-quoted judgment, Justice Lee remarked: “Having escaped the lions’ den, Mr Lehrmann made the mistake of going back for his hat.”
That was a reference to the fact that Mr Lehrmann faced trial in the ACT Supreme Court but the proceedings were abandoned due to juror misconduct.
Mr Lehrmann pleaded not guilty to one count of engaging in sexual intercourse without consent.
The charge was later dropped due to concern for Ms Higgins’ welfare.
Mr Lehrmann has persistently denied that any sexual contact with Ms Higgins took place and that when they entered the Defence Minister’s office, he went one way and she went another and did not see her again that night.
