The Federal Court will soon decide whether two defamation cases by Bruce Lehrmann over Brittany Higgins' rape allegations can continue or will be tossed.
Justice Michael Lee will deliver a judgment on April 28 either granting or denying an extension of time for the former Liberal staffer to bring his cases against Network Ten and News Life Media, the firm behind News.com.au.
The lawsuits centre around a segment on The Project and a News article published in February 2021 regarding Ms Higgins' claims Mr Lehrmann had raped her inside then minister Linda Reynolds' Parliament House office in Canberra in March 2019.
Permission from the court is required to continue both lawsuits as they were filed in February this year, well outside of the typical 12-month window required for defamation cases.
Mr Lehrmann has argued he could not commence the proceedings earlier because of a potential criminal case, legal advice against making such a move and his mental health.
Ten, News and journalists Lisa Wilkinson and Samantha Maiden have attempted to shut down the cases by urging the court to reject the dual applications for an extension of time.
Last week, Mr Lehrmann also filed a separate defamation lawsuit against the ABC over its coverage of a joint address by Ms Higgins and former Australian of the Year Grace Tame at the National Press Club in February 2022.
This case against the ABC was also started outside of the 12-month time period, and will come for a brief hearing in the Federal Court after Justice Lee hands down his judgment in the Ten and News cases on April 28.
A criminal trial brought against Mr Lehrmann in the ACT Supreme Court was derailed in October because of juror misconduct. In December, the prosecutor dropped the charges due to impacts a second trial would have on Ms Higgins' mental health.
No findings have been made against the law student and he has always denied the allegations.
