There are four main questions Justice Lee will consider in his judgement.
Those questions include: Was Bruce Lehrmann identified as Brittany Higgins’ alleged rapist in The Project broadcast? Has the truth defence been established? Has the qualified privilege defence been established? What are the damages, if any?
Mr Lehrmann sued over claims that friends and colleagues were able to identify him as Ms Higgins’ alleged rapist in The Project broadcast, even though he was not named.
During the hearing in December, his lawyers argued there was a very small pool of Liberal staffers working for then-defence industry minister Linda Reynolds in 2019, when Ms Higgins alleges she was raped.
Due to the small number of potential candidates, his lawyers claimed it was very easy for people to identify Mr Lehrmann as the alleged rapist.
Network Ten argued it did not reveal any identifying features that would link Mr Lehrmann with the alleged rape.
The main defence Network Ten and Lisa Wilkinson relied on was the truth defence, which means they sought to establish that Ms Higgins was telling the truth when she alleged Mr Lehrmann raped her.
If Justice Lee finds it’s likely that Ms Higgins was raped, then Mr Lehrmann was not defamed in the broadcast – even if people were able to identify him as the alleged rapist during the broadcast.
The qualified privilege defence protects the public interest where a media outlet has acted reasonably. This defence shines a light on the way broadcasters and journalists put stories together.
Network Ten and Wilkinson had separate representation, which means Justice Lee could make different findings.
If this defence is successful, Mr Lehrmann will lose.
Mr Lehrmann could be awarded $459,000 in damages if the truth defence and qualified privilege fail, which is the cap for non-economic loss in a defamation case.
He also sought aggravated damages which means he may get more than the cap.
It is also possible that Mr Lehrmann could get no damages if Justice Lee finds Mr Lehrmann lied and was not a credible witness.
Mr Lehrmann could also be awarded nominal damages for the same reason.
