Lehrmann-linked TV producer sues second media giant

The one-time star witness in Bruce Lehrmann’s infamous libel case has launched legal action against two of Australia’s biggest media companies.

Former Seven employee Taylor Auerbach launched his own defamation case against News Corp in the Federal Court on Friday, after previously suing his former employer.

Auerbach claims that the News published a false denial in response to allegations that he received anti-Semitic text messages while at the network.

He claims he was vilified and racially vilified by the publication in the Australian newspaper.

This follows an attempt to sue Seven over allegations it made derogatory comments about her, which led to the producer being ostracized and vilified.

Auerbach was thrust into the spotlight during Lehrmann’s 2024 libel trial when he claimed Seven had paid for a $1,000 Thai massage, luxury hotels, expensive dinners and a golf outing in order to secure a tell-all interview with former political staffers.

A case management hearing in the Federal Court on Friday was much less remarkable.

Auerbach represented himself from the comfort of what he told the court was his brother’s luxury car.

He even stood up outside the car to bow to Judge Robert Bromwich and stuck his head inside to watch the proceedings.

Auerbach’s defamation claim relates to an article in The Australian magazine in which he denied bullying a former Spotlight executive producer, including sending him anti-Semitic text messages.

However, there were some legal flaws in his case.

The article cited in the libel suit was dated August 2024, well outside the 12-month period for filing a libel suit.

Judge Bromwich told Auerbach that racial discrimination cases should also be brought through the Human Rights Commission rather than the Federal Court.

The former producer stated that he would push back on this aspect of the plot and admitted that it was “a bit of creative thinking”.

However, he stated that he was willing to press forward with his defamation claim and that he would “take action over a later article” if the 12-month period was not extended.

“There was serious damage before this article, then there was ‘explosion’ and then it continued,” Auerbach told the court. he said.

Judge Bromwich suggested that the claim would be “novel”, noting that serious prejudice must be specific to the allegedly defamatory article.

Lawyers for Auerbach and the News agreed to a timeline that would see them return to court for the filing on October 26.

“This has perhaps been more productive than I feared,” Judge Bromwich said.

The judge perhaps ended the trial where it should have started.

“Am I pronouncing your last name correctly, Mr. Auerbach?” Judge Bromwich asked.

“I encountered Aardvark before your Honor, so you’re doing just fine,” Auerbach replied.

The former TV producer recently complained about the impact of his involvement in Lehrmann’s case when he appeared in the Federal Court for his case against Seven.

“I tried to be a normal living member of society,” he told the court in June.

“Society told me: ‘No, you are Lehrmann’s man’.”

Lehrmann was hit with a multimillion-dollar fine after losing a blockbuster libel case; A Federal Court judge found Lehrmann likely raped colleague Brittany Higgins in Parliament House in 2019.

The former political staffer denies sexually assaulting Ms Higgins and no criminal charges have been filed against him.