Ten agrees to foot some of Wilkinson’s legal bill with ‘no real likelihood’ of Lehrmann paying
Ten has agreed to pay a portion of Lisa Wilkinson’s exorbitant legal costs in defending Bruce Lehrmann’s failed defamation case against her.
Federal Court judge Michael Lee ruled on Thursday that Bruce Lehrmann must pay a flat $2 million in costs to Network Ten, despite referring to him as “a man of modest means”, and admitting there was “no real likelihood” of Lehrmann being able to pay the full amount.
Ten’s legal fees are estimated to be north of $3 million, and the network has also agreed to pay $558,548.30 of Wilkinson’s claimed $1.8 million in legal fees.
The network said it was “not willing to commit to a judgment sum of that amount” and that a judgement of the total should not be entered against the network, but it was willing to pay the amount on a ‘without prejudice’ basis.
Wilkinson opted for separate representation during the defamation case, and hired Sue Chrysanthou SC, who The Australian claims charged $8,000 for each court day, plus $800 an hour for preparation, conferences, advices, and travelling time.
Ten’s barrister Zoe Graus also asked that, should a third-party determine Wilkinson’s costs were less than the amount Ten agreed to pay, that “Ms Wilkinson would repay it to us”.
The court also heard that Ten initially offered to pay $607,850 to Wilkinson, but reconsidered what they called an “over-generous” amount.
Lehrmann sued Channel Ten and Wilkinson over a 2021 interview with Higgins in which she said she was raped in Parliament House by a work colleague.
Although he was not named in the interview, Lehrmann alleges details given during the broadcast made it clear he was the accused colleague, a claim which “utterly destroyed him”.
In dismissing the defamation suit, Justice Michael Lee found that Lehrmann raped Higgins.
“Having escaped the lion’s den, Mr Lehrmann made the mistake of coming back for his hat,” he said, before delivering his verdict.
Wilkinson’s legal bill is likely to climb higher. Last week, she filed a notice of contention with the Federal Court, seeking to overturn Justice Michael Lee’s findings against her professional conduct during the trial.
She alleges that Justice Lee made more than 50 errors in his ruling, including his finding that Wilkinson and The Project team had failed in their defence of qualified privilege.
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Nathan Jolly is the Deputy Editor of Mumbrella. He joined the team in July, 2023.
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If Wilkinson is still on Ten’s payroll without actually working, maybe that could compensate for her ‘less than what she wanted’ amount.
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