Summarize this content to 2000 words in 6 paragraphs Lehrmann also says Lee’s assessment that he would only have been entitled to $20,000 if he had won the defamation case was “wholly inadequate”.Both Ten and Wilkinson, who had separate legal representation at the trial, have asked the Full Court to affirm Lee’s decision if the appeal proceeds. However, they have urged the appeal court to go further than Lee and find Lehrmann knew Higgins did not consent to sex.Lee found Lehrmann was “so intent upon gratification to be indifferent to Ms Higgins’ consent”, rather than finding he had “actual cognitive awareness that Ms Higgins did not consent”.In a ruling last month, Lee ordered Lehrmann to pay $2 million in legal costs to Ten after losing his defamation case. However, this is likely to be academic because the court has heard the former Liberal staffer does not have the means to pay that sum and may be tipped into bankruptcy.Given the unlikelihood of Wilkinson recovering any costs from Lehrmann, her employer Ten will pay some of her legal bills under an indemnity covering costs “properly incurred and reasonable in amount”.To date, Ten has agreed to pay $558,548 to cover some of her costs. This is significantly lower than the $1.8 million Wilkinson had sought.Wilkinson’s costs will be examined by a referee. This may result in Wilkinson either having to pay back some of the $558,548, or Ten paying an additional sum.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.
