Wilkinson’s husband makes big legal move
Lisa Wilkinson’s husband Peter FitzSimons has asked a court to order Bruce Lehrmann to pay the author’s legal costs associated with replying to a subpoena in the former political staffer’s blockbuster defamation trial.
Federal Court Justice Michael Lee will early next month hand down his landmark decision after Mr Lehrmann sued Network 10 and Ms Wilkinson over the high-profile journalist’s Logie-winning interview with Brittany Higgins.
Mr Lehrmann alleges he was defamed by the The Project broadcast after Ms Higgins alleged she was raped by her former colleague on a couch inside their boss Senator Linda Reynolds’ office in March 2019.
He has denied the allegations and his trial in the ACT Supreme Court ended in a mistrial due to juror misconduct before the Director of Public Prosecutions dropped the charges.
Author and Sydney Morning Herald columnist Mr FitzSimons was previously subpoenaed relating to Ms Higgins’ book deal with publisher Penguin Random House.
The court previously heard that Ms Higgins had been paid $108,000 for an advance for a book deal and would have received another $216,000 from Penguin Random House when she completed the project.
In documents released by the Federal Court on Tuesday, it was revealed that Mr FitzSimons was seeking an order that Mr Lehrmann pay for his “reasonable loss or expenses” associated with complying with the subpoena.
According to documents produced by Penguin Random House, Ms Higgins entered into an agreement to deliver by January 2022 a 90,000-word book described as “a memoir that covers Brittany’s courageous personal story”.
She would have been paid $325,000 for the book, according to the agreement which was signed in March 2021.
