Bruce Lehrmann's defamation claims have survived a serious challenge, with a judge granting him an extension of time in which to sue two media companies and a pair of high-profile journalists.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
or signup to continue reading
Justice Michael Lee's ruling, in the Federal Court on Friday, paves the way for the former Liberal Party staffer's lawsuits to proceed to trial.
Mr Lehrmann filed defamation claims against Network Ten and television presenter Lisa Wilkinson, as well as the publisher of news.com.au and the website's political editor, Samantha Maiden, in February.
The 27-year-old alleges those parties defamed him two years earlier, when they published the initial stories in which Brittany Higgins accused of a former Liberal Party colleague of raping her at Parliament House.
While Mr Lehrmann was not named as the alleged rapist at the time, he claims he was nevertheless able to be identified.
In documents filed with the court, his lawyers allege the media companies and their journalists intended to "injure" him by presenting Ms Higgins' claims in an "over-sensationalised" manner.
Mr Lehrmann, who has always denied wrongdoing, also says "the respondents were recklessly indifferent to truth or falsity" of the defamatory imputations he claims the stories conveyed.
Each opponent has raised various possible defences to Mr Lehrmann's lawsuits, but they all primarily relied on him having filed his claims well outside the statutory 12-month window to do so.
During preliminary hearings in March, Mr Lehrmann's legal team argued Justice Lee should grant him an extension of time because it had been unreasonable for him to commence civil action sooner.
One of his barristers, Steven Whybrow SC, told the court "overlapping" criminal proceedings, which were marred by juror misconduct before being discontinued, had been one barrier to a defamation case.
Mr Whybrow also claimed mental health considerations and advice given by Mr Lehrmann's former solicitor, Warwick Korn, had prevented his client suing within a year of the publications.
Lawyers for Ten, Ms Wilkinson, News Life Media and Ms Maiden all argued Justice Lee should dismiss the application for an extension of time, which would have effectively terminated the cases against them.
In claiming Mr Lehrmann could have initiated civil action within a year, they sought to cast doubt on the nature of the advice Mr Korn had provided and questioned the 27-year-old's state of mind at the relevant time.
After considering the extension application for more than a month, Justice Lee granted it on Friday.
The judge found it had been unreasonable for Mr Lehrmann to file his claims within the statutory limitation period, for reasons including that the man had acted in accordance with legal advice.
Justice Lee was satisfied Mr Korn had warned the 27-year-old against suing when Ms Higgins first went public, despite the fact aspects of what occurred during the pair's "marathon conference, apparently lubricated by whisky and punctuated by Mr Lehrmann's texting", remained unclear.
The judge also found Mr Lehrmann would have been taking "a step into the unknown", potentially prejudicing his defence in the criminal case, had he initiated defamation proceedings while that matter remained unresolved.
The decision means Mr Lehrmann's opponents will fall back on other defences, which include seeking to prove Ms Higgins' rape allegations were true, during a defamation trial that is likely to run for four weeks.
Another of Mr Lehrmann's barristers, Matthew Richardson SC, indicated on Friday it was highly unlikely his client would want a jury trial.
"It's the most publicised rape case, probably, in Australian history, and the entire community is divided on it," he said.
Justice Lee said he would regard it as "a no-brainer" to order a jury trial in a case without such a high profile.
Ms Higgins has previously indicated her willingness to give evidence during the defamation proceedings and, on Friday, the court heard there would likely be about 25 witnesses in total.
Mr Lehrmann is also suing the Australian Broadcasting Corporation over its live broadcast of Ms Higgins and sexual assault survivor Grace Tame addressing the National Press Club in February 2022.
Among his claims in that case, which does not involve the time limitation issue, Mr Lehrmann alleges the ABC made "a contemptuous attempt to prejudice the jury" in his criminal case.
He was awaiting his criminal trial at the time of the address, which he claims took place in a location that "gave gravitas and credence to the assertion by Ms Higgins" that he raped her.
The ABC is yet to file any response to the case against it, and the question of whether to join the national broadcaster's matter with those against the other media entities is yet to be determined.
The fallout from Mr Lehrmann's aborted prosecution has also included the revelation police and prosecutors were at loggerheads over how to deal with the criminal case.
An independent board of inquiry - the ACT equivalent of a royal commission - was set to begin scrutinising that issue and related matters next Monday.
However, public hearings have been delayed until May 8 because of the enormous volume of material it has received.
As of April 17, the inquiry was said to have received in excess of 140,000 relevant documents.
