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 Justice Lee will hear Ten’s argument for reopening its case in light of “fresh evidence”, according to the interlocutory application filed on Sunday afternoon.
Ten’s barrister, Dr Matt Collins KC, is seeking “leave to re-open the First Respondent’s case for the purpose of adducing fresh evidence”, the application said.
Justice 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 Justice Lee allows the fresh evidence to be adduced it will almost certainly see the judgement date rescheduled.
Justice 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.
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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.
Justice 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.
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