Network Ten will ask the federal court to reopen its defence on Tuesday at an emergency hearing scheduled less than two days before the judgement in the Bruce Lehrmann defamation case is due to be handed down.
Justice Michael Lee was scheduled to deliver his judgment in the federal court in Sydney at 10.15am on Thursday 4 April in the defamation case Lehrmann brought against Network Ten and Lisa Wilkinson.
Now Lee will hear Ten’s argument for reopening its case in light of “fresh evidence”, according to the interlocutory application filed on Sunday afternoon.
Guardian Australia understands the evidence includes an affidavit with new information about Lehrmann’s dealings with the Seven Network’s Spotlight program.
Lehrmann gave an exclusive interview to Liam Bartlett on Spotlight in return for more than $100,000 towards his Sydney rental accomodation.
Last week a former Spotlight producer, Taylor Auerbach, issued defamation proceedings against Lehrmann after the former Liberal staffer made statements to the press which implied the producer lied about what took place when Seven was courting Lehrmann for an interview.
It was reported last week that Spotlight had put almost $3,000 on a Seven credit card to pay for Thai massages for Lehrmann and a producer.
“It’s an untrue and bizarre story from a disgruntled ex-Network Seven producer,” Lehrmann told News Corp last week. “Network Seven [has] only ever covered reasonable travel for filming and accommodation.”
Auerbach’s solicitor Rebekah Giles reportedly said in a concerns notice that Lehrmann’s comments about her client were false and conveyed a defamatory imputation.
Ten’s barrister, Matt Collins KC, is seeking “leave to re-open the First Respondent’s case for the purpose of adducing fresh evidence”, the application said.
Lee will hear the interlocutory application at 5pm on Tuesday when he will rule on whether to allow the fresh evidence to be presented by the defence.
The sensational development at the 11th hour comes more than three months after the five-week trial wrapped up in late December.
If Lee allows the fresh evidence to be adduced it will almost certainly see the judgement date rescheduled.
Lee will rule on whether the former Liberal staffer was defamed by Wilkinson and Ten when The Project broadcast an interview with Brittany Higgins in 2021 in which she alleged she was raped in Parliament House
The Project did not name Lehrmann as the Liberal staffer at the heart of the allegation, but he claims he was identifiable in the broadcast.
Lehrmann maintains his innocence. In a criminal trial in 2022 he pleaded not guilty to one charge of sexual intercourse without consent, denying that any sexual activity had occurred.
In December of that year, prosecutors dropped charges against him for the alleged rape of Higgins, saying a retrial would pose an “unacceptable risk” to her health.
Lee, who said he would begin writing the judgment the day after the trial ended, had to consider more than 15,000 pages of transcript and 1,000 separate exhibits, including hours of CCTV footage as well as audio and video recordings.
