‘Where’s the $2.4 million?’: Brittany Higgins’ bankruptcy order delayed by court technicality

3 months ago 16

A decision on whether Brittany Higgins will be declared bankrupt has been delayed due to a court technicality.

Higgins and her husband, David Sharaz, have been ordered to pay Higgins’ former boss, former Liberal senator Linda Reynolds, upwards of $341,000 in damages and likely more than $1 million in legal costs after her defamation action against the pair.

Former WA senator Linda Reynolds and her lawyer, Martin Bennett, arrive at court last year during defamation proceedings against Brittany Higgins and David Sharaz.

Justice Paul Tottle found in August that social media posts from Higgins and Sharaz had conveyed an imputation that Reynolds and her office had orchestrated to “cover up” the alleged rape of Higgins by colleague and parliamentary staffer Bruce Lehrmann at Parliament House in 2019.

However, Tottle said Reynolds and her staff had been appropriately supportive of Higgins following the allegation.

In the Federal Court on Tuesday, Reynolds’ lawyer Martin Bennett said his client was yet to see a cent of the money she was owed, despite Higgins being awarded $2.4 million in compensation from the Commonwealth in 2022 over the handling of her rape complaint.

“Ms Higgins got $2.4 million worth of taxpayer money and has paid not a cent towards the judgment, so [Reynolds] is incredibly disappointed,” he said.

“Effectively, Ms Higgins is saying she personally has no money left, so where’s the $2.4 million? That is the question.”

Reynolds has commenced bankruptcy proceedings against both Higgins and Sharaz.

However, Bennett said due to Higgins’ mental health and desire to deal with the issue at “arms-length”, it was agreed her notice would be served via her Perth-based lawyer.

“She’s aware of the hearing today. Ms Higgins desires to make no submission to the court,” he said.

The diversion from usual protocol has caused a technical issue with the court, with the decision on whether to declare Higgins bankrupt delayed for a week for the issues to be ironed out.

If Reynolds is granted a sequestration order, a trustee will be appointed by the court to control Higgins’ finances and investigate if she has any money to pay her debt to Reynolds.

Higgins and Sharaz sold their French château earlier this year after moving to Europe in 2023. The exact closing price is not clear, but the home was advertised from between $600,000 and $682,000.

She now works for a Melbourne public relations agency.

The bankruptcy hearing was adjourned to November 14. Sharaz will face a similar hearing on December 16.

Lehrmann’s criminal trial in 2022 was aborted due to juror misconduct, but it was later found to have been proved to the civil standard that Lehrmann had raped Higgins, following a separate defamation trial he initiated against Network Ten and journalist Lisa Wilkinson.

Lehrmann is currently appealing that decision.

Start the day with a summary of the day’s most important and interesting stories, analysis and insights. Sign up for our Morning Edition newsletter.