Brittany Higgins’ $325,000 book deal in jeopardy – as revealed Bruce Lehrmann WILL testify
Bruce Lehrmann WILL take the stand to tell his story for the first time – and Brittany Higgins’ $325,000 book deal is in jeopardy: the shocking fallout of lawsuits against Channel 10 and news.com.au
- Bruce Lehrmann wants to testify in trials
- If he wins, Brittany Higgins’ book could be in jeopardy
<!–
<!–
<!– <!–
<!–
<!–
<!–
Bruce Lehrmann is likely to take to the witness stand in his defamation suit against Channel 10 and news.com.au if the cases go to federal court.
It would be the first time Mr Lehrmann has personally told his story in court about what he claims happened the night Brittany Higgins claims he raped her in Parliament House.
Plaintiffs in Australian defamation cases almost always testify in civil proceedings, as was the case in high-profile court cases involving the country’s most decorated soldier, Ben Roberts-Smith, and cricketer Chris Gayle.
And the civil lawsuit is expected to thwart Higgins’ plan to publish a tell-all book — a deal worth $325,000 — at least until Mr. Lehrmann’s lawsuits against the two major news outlets are resolved .
Mr. Lehrmann’s attorneys filed two affidavits with the Federal Court on Tuesday.
One claim is against Network 10 due to an interview broadcast on The Project in February 2021 where Ms Higgins allegedly hosted Lisa Wilkinson that she was raped by ‘a male colleague’ in Parliament House in 2019.
Brittany Higgin arrives at the ACT Supreme Court in October – hours before the case against her alleged attacker was dropped
The other is against News Life Media, an umbrella company of Rupert Murdoch’s News Corporation that runs news.com.au, for reporting the same allegations made by Ms. Higgins.
According to court documents, that will be alleged Wilkinson “tried to exploit Ms. Higgins’ false allegations of sexual assault for her own personal and professional gain.”
Mr. Lehrmann has always denied the allegations against him. Network 10 can only win the defamation case if it can prove the allegations against him were true.
If they can’t prove that the former ministerial staffer raped Ms Higgins, anything else published would be considered libelous towards him – including Ms Higgins’ forthcoming memoir.
It is clear that the book had to go ahead, even though Mr Lehrmann’s trial was aborted last November and the rape charges were dropped.
However, it is unlikely to be released in the near future due to the looming libel lawsuits.
Bruce Lehrmann’s lawyers filed defamation lawsuits against Network 10 and news.com.au on Tuesday
The book has been touted as “her story in her own words”
Sources said the publisher would be “absurd” not to wait for the defamation cases to be resolved in light of the court claims.
Ms. Higgins’ book deal was signed with Penguin Random House in 2021, with the help of Wilkinson’s husband Peter FitzSimons.
It was spruiked as the ‘personal account of a young woman who accepted the most formidable institution in the country’.
‘[She] spoke truth to power and sparked a reckoning with systemic abuse that will be felt for years to come,” the publisher said in a statement.
Ms Higgins then tweeted the statement, adding: ‘This book will shed light on the culture within the corridors of power and provide a first-hand account of what it was like to survive a media storm that has turned into a movement. changed.’
While Mr Lehrmann’s lawyers have not publicly expressed concerns about the book, his former boss Linda Reynolds requested an unpublished manuscript earlier this month over fears it might contain defamatory material about her.
Lisa Wilkinson’s husband Peter FitzSimons helped Brittany Higgins land a book deal
“Our client tries to ensure that every report in the book is a fair report and that she has a reasonable opportunity to answer all matters from and concerning her in the book,” Ms. Reynolds, WA, Bennett’s law firm told The Australian newspaper.
Mr Lehrmann had pleaded not guilty at his rape trial in October last year before the ACT High Court. He has always maintained his innocence.
His trial was aborted in November for misconduct by a juror. ACT’s Director of Public Prosecutions, Shane Drumgold SC, subsequently dropped the charges against him entirely due to concerns over Ms Higgins’ mental health.
Ms Higgins’ potential book came under fire at trial – with Mr Lehrmann’s lawyer Steven Whybrow telling Ms Higgins she had been given a $325,000 advance for the memoir and began sketching chapters before she finished making a formal statement about her alleged rape to the police.
Mr Whybrow told the court there were ‘325,000 reasons why’ the case was important to Ms Higgins.