Former Liberal staffer Bruce Lehrmann has avoided hitting $200,000 in his already cash-strapped pockets after a judge ordered his defamation appeal can proceed without it.
Network Ten and journalist Lisa Wilkinson failed in their bid to get the funds paid into court as security in case the 29-year-old lost his legal challenge.
On Wednesday, Federal Court Justice Wendy Abraham refused to make the proposed orders.
The judge also granted Lehrmann’s request to stay previous court orders that he pay $2 million in legal fees to Ten for the costs of defending the proceeding.
He will also have to pay Wilkinson’s legal fees, which are currently unknown.
Earlier in October, Justice Abraham heard that Lehrmann was living on Centrelink benefits in part because the broadcaster contributed to his image as a rapist.
“They are one of the reasons he is virtually unemployable,” his lawyer Zali Burrows told the court.
Ten has already filed a bankruptcy notice against Lehrmann but agreed not to take further action until the appeal is resolved.
The 29-year-old sued over a February 2021 report on The Project interviewing Brittany Higgins about her allegations that she was sexually assaulted at Parliament House in March 2019.
In April, Justice Michael Lee ruled that Lehrmann had sexually assaulted Higgins in Parliament, based on the balance of probabilities.
Lehrmann denies the claim and does not face criminal charges for the incident after his trial was halted due to juror misconduct.
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