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The clever tactic Lisa Wilkinson may use to derail Bruce Lehrmann’s libel case against her, as husband Peter FitzSimons hints that the couple are holidaying abroad amid his long absence from Channel 10.
- Bruce Lehrmann filed defamation lawsuit against Lisa Wilkinson
- Suing over coverage of Brittany Higgins’ rape allegations
Lisa Wilkinson could derail Bruce Lehrmann’s high-stakes libel case against Channel 10 and news.com.au with a clever legal tactic: The TV star’s husband hints she might be on holiday in the UK after a hell year.
The former ministerial employee is suing the network over an interview broadcast on The Project in which Brittany Higgins first alleged to Wilkinson that she was raped by “a male colleague” at Parliament House in 2019.
According to a claim brief filed in Federal Court on February 7, Mr. Lehrmann will allege that Channel 10 and Ms. Wilkinson were “recklessly indifferent to truth or falsehood” when the allegations were made against them.
It is also suing News Life Media, an umbrella company of Rupert Murdoch’s News Corporation that runs news.com.au, over coverage by journalist Samantha Maiden who made the same allegations as Ms Higgins.
Mr. Lehrmann strongly denies having sexual contact with Ms. Higgins.
But there may be a vulnerability in his case: The Project news broke two years ago, in February 2021, forcing his lawyers to ask the court to extend the one-year statute of limitations to file a claim.
Brittan Higgins first alleged Lisa Wilkinson (pictured left, with Ms Higgins) who was raped by “a male colleague” at Parliament House in 2019
Ms Wilkinson is believed to be in the UK with her prominent columnist and author husband Peter FitzSimons.
However, Ms Wilkinson, who is believed to be in the UK with her prominent columnist and author husband Peter FitzSimons, could oppose the extension and bring the case crashing down.
The same problem could also rear its head in the News Life Media case.
Pursuant to an instructive order filed in Federal Court by Judge Lee on February 17, Mr. Lehrmann’s deadline to file an affidavit in support of the statute of limitations request is March 1.
Ms Wilkinson, Ms Maiden, Channel 10 and news.com.au will have until March 10 to object.
In order for the extension to be granted, Mr. Lehrmann’s legal team would have to show that it was unreasonable for him to file a lawsuit within the first year after publication.
Lehrmann was charged with raping Higgins six months after the interviews aired. Lehrmann pleaded not guilty during her rape trial in the ACT High Court in October last year.
The trial was aborted in November due to misconduct by a juror. The ACT’s director of public prosecution, Shane Drumgold SC, later dropped out of the trial entirely due to concerns about Ms Higgins’ mental health.
Mr. Lehrmann was not named during The Project’s interview nor was he publicly identified as Ms. Higgins’ alleged rapist until August 2021, when he was formally charged with sexual assault.
However, it is understood that his colleagues in Parliament House knew the allegations were against him prior to the criminal indictment.
Daily Mail Australia understands that Mr Lehrmann gave Network 10 and news.com.au a settlement offer, but the media rejected the offer and vowed to fight the issues.
The case returns to court on March 16.
The trial against Bruce Lehrmann (pictured) was derailed by juror misconduct
In early February it was revealed that Ms Wilkinson and her husband canceled their star-studded ‘Independence Day’ party after enduring the ‘worst year of their lives’ in 2022.
Ms. Wilkinson’s memoir, It Wasn’t Meant to Be This Way, was released in early 2022, but was soon slashed at major retailers to as little as $5.
In June, Ms Wilkinson won a Logie for her powerful television interview with former Liberal staffer Brittany Higgins, who had alleged she was raped by a colleague at Parliament House in 2019.
He praised Ms. Higgins in her acceptance speech, leading to the delay of the trial of Ms. Higgins’ accused rapist.
The fallout led past and present colleagues, as well as rivals from various networks, to criticize Ms Wilkinson.
He abruptly resigned from The Project in November after four years on the panel, citing “targeted toxicity” from sections of the media as the reason for his departure.
The veteran journalist has not returned to the screens but continues to earn a ‘seven-figure salary’ from Ten thanks to the ‘hermetic’ agreement she signed in 2021.
On Sunday, her husband, Peter FitzSimons, published an interview with London-based royal correspondent Camilla Tominey in the Sydney Morning Herald, during which he said he had been a “guest” in her country “for the last week or two”.