Broke loser Bruce Lehrmann is still reeling from his absolute failure of a lawsuit against Lisa Wilkinson and Network 10, and while he’s facing a hefty bill estimated to be as high as $10 million, his lawyers won’t be getting paid.
The ex-Liberal staffer was required to share details about who was funding his defamation case in Federal Court. It has now been confirmed there wasn’t a deal with a mystery backer who covered Lehrmann’s legal costs.
Sue Chrysanthou and Lisa Wilkinson after receiving the verdict. (Image: Getty)
His lawyers were acting on a no-win no-fee agreement, meaning they haven’t received any payment for the failed case.
Lehrmann’s lawyer, Paul Svilans confirmed this in court, saying: “Your Honour, there are no documents to produce, in that we read that paragraph as requiring production of any agreement by a third party to pay the applicant’s costs. However, there is none such agreement.”
He continued: “There is only a cost agreement between my firm and the applicant. That agreement makes no reference to any third party. I have a copy here and I’m happy to produce it to Your Honour to have a look at if Your Honour is minded to.”
After his lawyers presented the document to the court, Justice Michael Lee said it seemed there wasn’t a private backer.
“It was a conditional costs agreement whereby there’s no obligation to pay the amount of costs in the event the proceedings were unsuccessful,” Justice Lee said.
“I intend to deliver judgment in respect to the cost issues at 2.15pm on Friday… there’s been a lot of costs rendered, but they’re not recoverable, because Mr Lerhmann [lost]. And there’s no third-party agreement to pay costs.”
Lehrmann now has until May 31 to file an appeal against Justice Lee’s decision.
Bruce Lehrmann on his final day in court. (Image: Getty)
What happens if Bruce Lehrmann can’t pay?
Lehrmann has reportedly been out of a job since 2021, so there’s a chance he won’t be able to pay an estimated $10 million legal bill.
If he isn’t able to pay up, he could be forced into bankruptcy, meaning Network 10 won’t be able to recover any of their costs.
In 2023, Ben Roberts-Smith lost his year-long defamation lawsuit against the Nine Network and was ordered to pay costs of up to $35 million. Kerry Stokes, the chairperson of Seven West Media, paid a large percentage of this through a third-party cost order.
However, Network 10 won’t be able to recoup costs using this avenue, as Lehrmann doesn’t have a private backer.
More to come.
