Friday marks the beginning of another legal battle related to the rape of Brittany Higgins in Parliament House five years ago.
The Western Australian senator Linda Reynolds is suing Higgins, who is her former staffer, over social media posts she alleges damaged her reputation.
Here’s what you need to know.
How did we get here?
Higgins’ decision to publicly allege she had been raped in Reynolds’ office by a colleague, Bruce Lehrmann, in 2021 has led to a long-running saga of legal battles.
Lehrmann has always vehemently denied the allegation and pleaded not guilty at the criminal trial, which was aborted due to juror misconduct. A second trial did not proceed due to prosecutors’ fears for Higgins’ mental health As part of his failed defamation trial against Network 10 and Lisa Wilkinson, a federal court in April found that, on the balance of probabilities, he raped Higgins.
Higgins settled a personal injury claim against the government for $2.445m in December 2022.
In June the following year, Reynolds said she would refer the payout to the National Anti-Corruption Commission.
Reynolds claimed the payment to Higgins was finalised in an “unusually swift” manner, “raising serious questions about how this significant sum of public money was determined and allocated”.
Why is Reynolds taking Higgins to court?
In July, Higgins responded in an Instagram story, urging Reynolds to “stop”.
Reynolds responded by sending a concerns notice against her former staffer, saying “ever since Ms Higgins first made her allegations of rape public, I have been the target of unwarranted criticism and abuse”.
After Higgins published another statement on Twitter/X two weeks later, Reynolds proceeded to take legal action and filed a writ in August.
Court documents show Reynolds alleges that Higgins’ posts were in breach of a settlement and release signed in March 2021. That settlement allegedly contained a non-disparagement clause.
Reynolds was also suing Higgins’ husband, David Sharaz, for defamation. In April, Sharaz said he would not fight the case as he could not afford to pay legal costs to defend himself.
Did they try to avoid it going to trial?
The parties attempted mediation. However, talks broke down earlier this year.
Higgins offered an “olive branch” apology to Reynolds and the senator’s former chief of staff Fiona Brown in April: “Senator Reynolds and Fiona Brown have also been hurt and for that I am also sorry. My perceptions and feelings about what happened in the days and weeks after my rape are different from theirs. I deeply regret we have not yet found common ground.”
Justice Michael Lee’s judgment in the Lehrmann defamation trial the week prior had rejected Higgins’ claims of a political cover-up.
Reynolds responded that Higgins had to accept there was no cover-up or face trial, as reputational damage had come at “enormous emotional and financial cost”.
In a statement on the trial’s eve, Reynolds said she had “every confidence that justice will be done”.
“It is regrettable that this trial has to proceed but I am determined to see it through,” she said on Thursday.
Who is expected to appear?
Both Reynolds and Higgins are expected to appear to give evidence.
We can expect a host of high-profile witnesses to offer their accounts too.
In June, Reynolds’ lawyer, Martin Bennett, said he had filed 17 witness files and was preparing another five. The former prime minister Scott Morrison was among them and Bennett said he could be called to the hearings.
“He’s prepared to give evidence,” he said, adding that Morrison could give evidence remotely from overseas.
It is expected other Liberal senators could attend to provide their version of events, including senators Michaelia Cash and Wendy Askew, and former foreign affairs minister Marise Payne.
Beyond politicians, expert medical witnesses may appear. The News Corp political journalist Samantha Maiden, who broke the original story along with Lisa Wilkinson for The Project, may also be called up.
Sharaz is not expected to appear.
When can we expect a verdict?
The trial before Justice Paul Tottle in the supreme court of Western Australia is expected to continue until early September.
A judgment could take weeks or months more. In the Lehrmann defamation trial, the initial five-week hearing was held in November and December 2023. It was reopened in April 2024 to hear fresh evidence and a decision was handed down shortly after.
