Brittany Higgins has been ordered by the Supreme Court of Western Australia to cover a significant portion of her former boss Linda Reynolds’ legal expenses following a defamation ruling against her. The court found that a number of social media posts made by Higgins were defamatory, leading to an award of $315,000 in damages, plus interest.
In the court’s recent decision, Higgins was required to pay 80% of Reynolds’ legal costs, which are yet to be determined. It has since come to light that Higgins had previously offered $200,000 to help cover Reynolds’ legal expenses just before the trial commenced, but this offer was declined. The proposal included a possibility for both parties to issue a joint statement, expressing a desire to resolve their dispute and move forward amicably.
The suggested statement highlighted the distress caused by the ongoing legal battles for both parties and proposed that both Reynolds and Higgins mutually acknowledge the emotional toll it had taken. Additionally, the statement would have involved an acknowledgment from Reynolds regarding Higgins’ belief that her employer did not provide adequate support following an incident on 23 March 2019, when Higgins alleged she was raped by Bruce Lehrmann in the senator’s ministerial suite.
Despite the valiant attempts for a settlement, Reynolds deemed the offer unreasonable, a perspective that was confirmed by Justice Paul Tottle, who oversaw the negotiations. Higgins’ posts were implicated in a variety of serious accusations against Reynolds, including claims of harassment and mishandling of Higgins’ sexual assault allegation during the high-profile case against Lehrmann.
In a notable twist, a Federal Court judge stated that there was a high probability that Higgins was indeed raped by Lehrmann, who continues to deny these charges and is appealing the ruling. Additionally, the case against Lehrmann was complicated by juror misconduct, resulting in the trial being interrupted.
This situation has spotlighted the complications arising in the aftermath of sexual assault allegations and the significant emotional and legal ramifications involved. Support remains available for those affected, through resources such as the National Sexual Assault, Domestic and Family Violence Counselling Service.