Former senator Linda Reynolds faces a new legal front in battle against Commonwealth and its lawyers
Former senator Linda Reynolds feels “vindicated” after winning libel battle against Brittany Higgins – but her fight over $2.4 million government settlement is “the last issue to be resolved”.
Her lawyer said Ms Higgins had been approached by members of the public who supported Reynolds’ tenacity in fighting to restore her reputation following allegations that she mishandled rape allegations.
Martin Bennett was speaking outside the Federal Court in Perth, where Ms Reynolds is fighting the Commonwealth over the seven-figure sum awarded to Ms Higgins.
He told reporters: “From a reputation standpoint, (he) feels very much in the right.
“And this is reflected in the fact that he can’t walk in public without people stopping him and telling him how much they admire his tenacity.
“He was abroad on some defense matters and people were uniformly congratulating him on dignity and originality.
“So now it’s just a matter of being financially vindicated.”
Ms. Reynolds is suing the Commonwealth and law firm HWL Ebsworth (HWLE) over its handling of Ms. Higgins’ $2.4 million compensation settlement, arguing that she was excluded from the process.
Mr Bennett said Ms Reynolds only saw the agreement after it was aired by Judge Lee during Bruce Lehrmann’s Channel 10 libel trial.
“There was no protection for Linda, no non-disparagement clause or anything like that.
“The allegations in these proceedings gave rise to the perception that everything Brittany Higgins lied about herself was true.
“It’s a matter of dealing with it, and that’s the final issue that needs to be resolved.”
Ms Higgins was rewarded with a multimillion-dollar taxpayer-funded payout after Ms Reynolds went public with allegations that she was raped by her former colleague Bruce Lehrmann in the defense secretary’s office in Parliament House; He continued to deny this claim.
He claimed in media interviews that Ms Reynolds, his boss at the time, was involved in a political cover-up over his rape.
Ms Reynolds was hospitalized after coming under intense public scrutiny and criticism from her parliamentary rivals following the publication of the allegations.
While the National Anti-Corruption Commission (NACC) cleared the federal government of any wrongdoing regarding the payment of compensation in June this year, Ms Reynolds is taking fresh legal action in the Federal Court.
A statement of claim submitted by Ms Reynolds’ lawyers shows that in December 2022 the attorney general was notified by HWL Ebsworth that it was exercising its discretion to take over Ms Higgins’ defense of the compensation claims.
Ms. Reynolds was told that she was not required to attend the mediation and that she was not to make any public comments about the mediation or civil proceedings.
Ms Reynolds said she was denied the right to pursue her own legal representation after being told the Commonwealth could not provide her with legal advice on the matter.
He said this was “a clear conflict of interest due to the public support offered to Ms Higgins and the attorney general’s version of events”.
He claims the law firm was negligent in excluding Ms Reynolds from and failing to take instructions from the mediation conference held to resolve Ms Higgins’ claim.
He also said they had not conducted an independent investigation to determine whether Ms. Reynolds had “at least a meaningful possibility of liability.”
He said the settlement of the claim had the effect of publicly validating Ms Higgins’ allegations against him.
“As a result of HWLE’s breaches… (Ms. Reynolds) has been and continues to be harmed,” her lawyers said.
Ms. Reynolds said she was denied the opportunity to rebut Ms. Higgins’ allegations and that the attorney general enabled and encouraged the falsity of Ms. Higgins’ compensation claim.
