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.
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.
