Whatsapp twist in Higgins defamation case
Senator Linda Reynolds has made a last minute request to amend her claim to include Whatsapp messages sent by Brittany Higgins to a journalist and to her husband, as her defamation trial against the former staffer begins in Perth.
After multiple failed mediation hearings, the pair will ask the Supreme Court of WA to decide whether a series of social media posts shared by Ms Higgins and her husband, David Sharaz, were defamatory of the West Australian senator.
The couple shared posts in 2022 and 2023 which were critical of Senator Reynolds’ handling of Ms Higgins’ allegation she was raped in Parliament House in 2019 by her then-colleague Bruce Lehrmann, and of the Senator’s public response to Ms Higgins’ commonwealth compensation payment.
Mr Lehrmann was charged and faced trial in 2022, but the trial was aborted over juror misconduct and the charge was dropped shortly after. He had pleaded not guilty and has maintained his innocence.
As proceedings kicked off in the five-week blockbuster trial before Justice Paul Tottle, Senator Reynolds’ legal team, led by Martin Bennett, said they had an application to amend the statement of claim relating to two recent publications from Ms Higgins.
The legal team wants to see messages Ms Higgins sent to a journalist at news.com.au and to Mr Sharaz, but they have been deleted from Ms Higgins’ electronic devices.
Ms Higgins has claimed her Whatsapp messages are automatically deleted once sent.
Senator Reynolds’ legal team wants Mr Sharaz to provide the messages, but he refuses to hand them over, the court was told.
Mr Bennett said they had received an unsworn affidavit from Ms Higgins’ defence lawyer Carmel Galati, that was the subject of the application.