Bruce Lehrmann's defamation claim against Network 10 and news.com.au set for ... trends now
Bruce Lehrmann's defamation case against Network 10 and news.com.au will hinge on whether they can prove he raped Brittany Higgins - as it's revealed the media giants have rejected settlement offers.
Mr Lehrmann's lawyers, defamation specialists Mark O'Brien Legal, lodged statements of claim in the Federal Court on Tuesday, initiating legal action against the outlets.
The case against Channel 10 is over an interview aired on The Project in February 2021 where Ms Higgins claimed to host, Lisa Wilkinson, that she was raped by 'a male colleague' in Parliament House in 2019.
Mr Lehrmann is also suing News Life Media, an umbrella company of Rupert Murdoch's News Corp Australia, which runs news.com.au, over coverage which featured the same allegations by Ms Higgins.
According to the statement of claim filed against both outlets, Mr Lehrmann's legal team allege that Wilkinson and Channel 10 were 'recklessly indifferent to the truth or falsity' when they alleged a man raped Ms Higgins in Parliament House on March 23, 2019.
Mr Lehrmann denies sexually assaulting Ms Higgins.
Bruce Lehrmann is pictured on his way to the ACT Supreme Court during the rape trial against him in October
Specifically, it is alleged that Wilkinson 'was seeking to exploit the false allegations of sexual assault as made by Ms Higgins for her own personal and professional gain'.
In order for Network 10 to win the defamation case, it will have to prove the allegations aired on The Project in February 2021 were true.
If the media outlet can prove Mr Lehrmann sexually assaulted Ms Higgins, he will lose the case.
Mr Lehrmann wasn't named during the TV show nor was he publicly identified as Ms Higgins' alleged rapist until August 2021, when he was formally charged with sexual assault.
However, it is understood that his colleagues in Parliament House knew the allegations were against him prior to the criminal charge.
Mr Lehrmann had pleaded not guilty during
