Bombshell blow for Lisa Wilkinson and Ten as details are revealed of how Bruce Lehrmann’s multi-million dollar court case was bankrolled

Bruce Lehrmann has no secret backer to fund his multi-billion dollar bill for his defamation loss against Network Ten and Lisa Wilkinson, a court has heard.

Lehrmann’s dire financial situation was laid bare Wednesday morning during a case management hearing before Judge Michael Lee in federal court.

The network and Wilkinson have argued that Lehrmann – who has been out of a job since June 2021 – should cover the costs of the failed defamation lawsuit, worth an estimated $10 million.

Wilkinson’s attorney Zoe Graus said in court Wednesday that Lehrman had been served with a notice to provide documentation, including bank statements, trust accounts or third-party agreements with financiers to cover the costs of the lawsuit.

However, his lawyer Paul Svilans told the court that his client had nothing to present because there were no agreements.

Lisa Wilkinson is pictured giving a speech outside court after Lehrmann lost his case

The only agreement Lehrmann had was with defamation law firm Mark O’Brien Legal, which handled the case for him on a no-win, no-fee basis.

Justice Lee said: ‘The two most important points are: yes, many costs have been incurred, but these cannot be recovered because Mr Lehrmann … has lost.’

The case is adjourned and the hearing will resume at 12:45 p.m.

Lehrmann has been out of office since Brittany Higgins went public with her rape allegations against him on a February 2021 episode of The Project.

He was not named on air but sued over claims he was recognizable to friends and colleagues as Ms Higgins’ rapist.

Lehrmann lost the case on April 15 when Judge Michael Lee found on the balance of probabilities that he had raped Brittany Higgins in the Parliament Building in 2019.

At a costs hearing last Wednesday Judge Lee said Lehrmann may be forced into bankruptcy.

Lisa Wilkinson and Network Ten argued that Lehrmann should pay the costs of the trial (court document pictured)

Ten’s lawyer Matthew Collins KC said the legal arguments were “academic” because Lehrmann would not be able to pay the bills.

Dr. Collins said, “Alternatively, someone should put Mr. Lehrmann out of business or do something like that.”

He argued that Lehrmann should cover all of Ten’s costs because the case should never have been brought. He said the former employee “knew” the rape allegations against him were largely true.

“It was clear that the proceedings had always been commenced on the basis that it was doomed to failure, and that he must have known that it was doomed to failure,” Dr Collins told the court.

Judge Lee said he had reached ‘a level of satisfaction’ that there would be a costs order in favor of Ten.

The verdict will be announced on Friday at 10.15 am.

Last week the court heard that Lehrmann had asked his new senior counsel Guy Reynolds to provide advice on whether Judge Lee’s findings against him could be overturned on appeal.

The deadline for filing an appeal is normally 28 days. In Lehrmann’s case, the deadline was set to expire on May 13.

Judge Lee granted Lehrmann a two-week extension to appeal. The new deadline is May 31.