Bruce Lehrmann has cleared a major hurdle in his efforts to appeal against the result of his failed defamation case. The Federal Court has dismissed a bid from Network Ten, which would have required Mr Lehrmann to pay hundreds of thousands of dollars as a security before any appeal is heard.
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00:00Strapped for cash, but pressing ahead.
00:05Bruce Lehrman is challenging Justice Michael Lee's ruling that on the balance of probabilities,
00:10the former Liberal staffer did rape his then-colleague Brittany Higgins at Parliament House in 2019.
00:17She made the claim in an interview with Network 10's The Project.
00:21But a criminal trial in the ACT Supreme Court collapsed due to juror misconduct, leaving
00:27no verdict.
00:28The Federal Court has heard Mr Lehrman is impecunious, receiving Centrelink payments
00:33and wouldn't have been able to put up a security.
00:36His lawyer Zali Burrows argued there was a public interest in the appeal because her
00:41client is perhaps the most hated man in Australia.
00:45Justice Wendy Abraham agreed, noting the finding against him is extremely serious.
00:51The impact on him if he is denied that right is self-evident.
00:55That is the likely consequence of making the order the respondents seek.
01:00Separately, Bruce Lehrman has succeeded in a bid to delay the enforcement of a costs
01:05order against him from the original case.
01:08Even though Network 10 has accepted, it may not recover anything.
01:13In that circumstance, it is unclear what the prejudice to the respondents is said to be
01:18if the costs order was stayed pending the appeal.
01:22Had the decision gone the other way, it may have meant the end of this long-running legal
01:27saga.
01:28But as it stands, there's more litigation to come.
01:31Justice Abraham has flagged the full court has availability to hear the appeal in March
01:37next year.