Bruce Lehrmann lodges an appeal against his defamation trial loss

Bruce Lehrmann has lodged an appeal to overturn a damning defamation judgement that saw him branded a rapist – and he’s representing himself.

Lehrmann lost his defamation case against Network Ten and Lisa Wilkinson on April 15 when Federal Court Justice Michael Lee found on a balance of probabilities that he had raped Brittany Higgins in Parliament House in 2019.

In the findings, Justice Lee branded the former Liberal staffer a liar with a ‘tenuous’ attachment to the truth, whose testimony could only be believed if it could be corroborated with someone else.

Referencing the former Liberal staffer’s failed rape trial in 2022, the judge quipped: ‘Having escaped the lion’s den, Mr Lehrmann made the mistake of coming back for his hat.’

Along with a shattered reputation, Lehrmann faced bankruptcy after the judge ordered he cover his opponent’s legal fees – which have topped $2.5million.

Daily Mail Australia can now reveal Lehrmann drafted, lodged and served the notice of appeal himself before the deadline on Friday afternoon, rather than instructing solicitors doing it on his behalf, because he is self-represented.

Lehrmann, a second-year law student, has asked for a new judge to set Justice Lee’s decision aside and enter a judgement in his favour, and for Ten and Wilkinson to pay for the primary proceedings and the appeal.

It comes just one day before Ms Higgins ties the knot with her long-term boyfriend, David Sharaz, at a $20million estate on the Gold Coast.

The appeal comes one day before Brittany Higgins and her fiancé David Sharaz (pictured together) get married

Lehrmann was represented by defamation firm Mark O’Brien Legal during the initial proceedings, which lodged the original claim on his behalf last February and worked for him on a no win, no-fee basis.

The former Liberal staffer did not want to comment when contacted on Friday, however, it is understood financial pressures played a key role in his decision to push ahead with the appeal without an instructing firm.

Top Sydney barrister Guy Reynolds SC provided him with a 20-page memorandum of advice for the appeal on a pro-bono basis.

Former crown prosecutor Margaret Cuneen SC – who successfully represented ex-Wallaby Kurtley Beale during his sexual assault case – has also been tipped to help with the matter, along with Steven Whybrow SC.

Lehrmann may have to provide security costs ahead of any appeal. Failure to pay could result in the appeal not going ahead.

Daily Mail Australia understands four grounds for appeal have been identified in the notice, including that Justice Lee denied Lehrmann procedural fairness, and findings in relation to the truth defence were contrary to the evidence.

Further arguments are also understood to be that Justice Lee constructed and misconstrued the rape imputations, and Lehrmann should have been awarded damages.

Lisa Wilkinson and her barrister Sue Chrysanthou SC are pictured outside the Federal Court in April, after winning the defamation case

Lisa Wilkinson is pictured delivering her Logies speech, which resulted in Lehrmann’s criminal trial being delayed

During the initial proceedings, Lehrmann had made an application for aggravated damages over Wilkinson’s Logies speech in 2022.

In the speech, which was broadcast nationally eight days before Lehrmann’s criminal trial, Wilkinson referred to Ms Higgins as a proven victim of rape rather than an alleged victim. 

The speech resulted in the rape trial being rescheduled over concerns jurors may have watched the broadcast, or read the media commentary, and formed on opinion about Lehrmann.

Justice Lee found that Wilkinson’s conduct in delivering her Logies speech was ‘improper and unjustifiable’, and agreed with Lehrmann’s submission that the speech undermined his right to a fair trial.

However, he did not award the former staffer any damages.

After the judgement in April, Ms Higgins released a statement on Instagram saying she felt vindicated: ‘I was raped. No judgment was ever going to change this truth.’

‘I lived with the shame, humiliation, and fear of what telling my story would mean for my life and career, like so many other victim-survivors.’

If Lehrmann’s appeal is successful, Ms Higgins may not be able to refer to him as her ‘rapist’.

Lehrmann launched defamation action last year over a February 2021 episode of The Project, during which Ms Higgins aired her rape claims for the first time in an interview with Wilkinson.

He was then tried in a month-long hearing in the ACT Supreme Court in October 2022 but the matter was discontinued after the trial ended due to juror misconduct. 

Two months later, the ACT Director of Public Prosecutions dropped the matter altogether citing concerns for Ms Higgins’ mental health.

Lehrmann wasn’t named in The Project broadcast but claimed friends and colleagues were able to identify him as Ms Higgins’ rapist.

He has consistently denied raping Ms Higgins.