Channel Ten has billed Bruce Lehrmann for $2.5million over his failed defamation case.
Lehrmann suffered a massive legal loss against the network and Lisa Wilkinson in April when Federal Court Justice Michael Lee found he had, on a balance of probabilities, raped Brittany Higgins in Parliament House in March 2019.
He had sued for defamation 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.
The former staffer wasn’t named in the broadcast but claimed friends and colleagues were able to identify him as Ms Higgins’ rapist.
As the loser of the trial, Lehrmann will be expected to cough up at least a portion of the costs of running the trial.
Daily Mail Australia understands the hefty bill was sent to Lehrmann ahead of a costs hearing in the Federal Court at 9.30 on Monday.
Channel Ten has billed Bruce Lehrmann for $2.5million over his failed defamation case
Earlier in May, the court heard Lehrmann does not have a secret financier who bankrolled the case.
His solicitor Paul Svilans told the court his client had nothing to produce because there were no agreements.
The only agreement Lehrmann had was with defamation law firm Mark O’Brien Legal, which ran the case for him on a no-win, no-fee basis.
Justice Lee said: ‘The two key points are, yes, there’s been a lot of costs rendered, but they’re not recoverable because Mr Lehrmann … lost.’
He said Lehrmann may be forced into bankruptcy.
More to come
***
Read more at DailyMail.co.uk