Page:Lehrmann v Network Ten Pty Limited (Trial Judgment).pdf/86

 Forty-something. He's another Defence guy.

Ms Maiden:

Yeah.

Ms Higgins:

Yeah.

Ms Maiden:

So he's like anything weird going on but don't tell me.

Ms Higgins:

Yeah.

301 The parties accept these were comments about Mr Payne. It says something about Ms Higgins' desire by 2021 to paint others as having behaved inappropriately (and also her suggestibility to leading propositions) that she represented these things about one of her former colleagues, who after seeing her in distress in shortly after the incident, was concerned to enquire about her wellbeing.

F.7Mr Dillaway

302 I do not need to deal with Mr Dillaway at any length. He tried to assist the Court with his genuine recollection, but it is fair to say that unless aided by contemporaneous documents, his recollection was poor. I am not being critical of him, but save for one matter in respect of which I think he had a good recollection (contacting, with Ms Higgins' permission, a friend to assist Ms Higgins) by far the surest guide as to any interactions of Ms Higgins or others with him in 2019 comes not from his affidavit or unprompted recollection, but from the text messages that have been placed into evidence.

303 As I will explain, one of these messages is of some significance. That is the exchange on 26 March 2019, where Mr Dillaway asked: "Was it just you and Bruce who went back there or a group of people? Did you hook up in there or did someone take advantage of you?" (Ex R99 (at 695)) to which Ms Higgins replied:

Yeah, it was just Bruce and I from what I recall. I was barely lucid. I really don't feel like it was consensual at all".

(Emphasis added)

Lehrmann v Network Ten Pty Limited (Trial Judgment) [2024] FCA 369