Huge development in Linda Reynolds' defamation case against Brittany Higgins ... trends now
A Supreme Court judge is expected to intervene in the defamation case former defence minister Linda Reynolds has brought against Brittany Higgins and David Sharaz before it becomes yet another messy, expensive legal battle.
Senator Reynolds is suing Ms Higgins and her fiancé Mr Sharaz for defamation in the Supreme Court of Western Australia over posts they each made on social media that she says damaged her reputation.
Justice Marcus Solomon - who previously warned the parties of the 'human cost of this litigation' - is said to be so concerned about the matter going to trial that he may participate in the mediation session slated to take place in Perth on Tuesday.
If Justice Solomon is involved in the court-ordered mediation and the parties are unable to reach an agreement, he will not be able to preside over the six-week defamation trial scheduled for July.
Typically mediation is handled by a court registrar, but The Australian reports Justice Solomon is likely to intervene personally.
His concerns are justified: if the matter goes to trial, it'll be another emotionally taxing case for Ms Higgins, who already gave evidence at the Bruce Lehrmann defamation trial last year - a matter that has yet to be decided - and, before that, at Mr Lehrmann's criminal trial in late 2022.
A Supreme Court judge is expected to intervene in the defamation case former defence minister Linda Reynolds has brought against Brittany Higgins (left) and David Sharaz (right)
That criminal trial - launched after Ms Higgins accused Mr Lehrmann of raping her at Parliament House in March 2019 - was abandoned due to juror misconduct. Mr Lehrmann has always strongly denied the allegations.
Ms Reynolds' defamation case centres on tweets by Ms Higgins and Mr Sharaz that she claims imply she pressured Ms Higgins not to proceed with a police complaint regarding the alleged rape, and that she interfered with Mr Lehrmann's trial.
Speaking in the WA Supreme Court in late January, Justice Solomon had urged the parties to settle the matter at the upcoming mediation hearing on March 5.
'I just wanted to take the opportunity to say, again, how important it is that the parties invest whatever they can to resolve this matter,' he told the court.
If the two-day mediation this week is not successful, a six-week defamation trial will take place in four months' time.
Should the trial go ahead, a list
