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WA Liberal senator Linda Reynolds’ lawyers are set to pursue freezing orders in the defamation suit against her former staffer Brittany Higgins amid reports she and partner David Sharaz have left the country bound for Europe.
The former defence minister is demanding Higgins and former press gallery journalist Sharaz fork out damages, as well as aggravated damages, over several social media posts she claims were defamatory of her.
Liberal senator Linda Reynolds (centre) has taken both Brittany Higgins and her partner, David Sharaz, to court.Credit: Nine
The trio had been due to come face-to-face in West Australia’s Supreme Court in May in a last-ditch attempt to settle their rows out of court at the request of Justice Marcus Solomon.
But it appears the case has taken another turn amid media reports Higgins had bought property in the south of France, where she and Sharaz intended to start a new life.
In a letter penned to Higgins’ lawyer Leon Zwier on Tuesday and obtained by this masthead, Reynolds’ lawyer Martin Bennett foreshadowed plans to issue freezing orders over the pair’s assets.
“If such reports are true, we consider that an application for freezing orders is appropriate. Please advise as a matter of urgency your client’s intention in respect of her travel to France and your availability to confer in respect of our client’s application,” Bennett said.
If granted, a freezing order would prevent the pair from parting with or shifting any of their assets until the case has been finalised by the court.
A rundown of the documents filed in the matter to date, sighted by this masthead, indicates Bennett has not yet lodged an application for the matter to be heard.
Higgins’ lawyers at Arnold Bloch Leibler have been contacted for comment.
The development comes after the couple were pictured farewelling family, all of whom were donning white, at Brisbane International Airport on Monday evening before boarding a flight via the business class check-in counter.
The pair later published social media posts confirming the move, with Higgins’ captioning an image with ‘No matter how far or wide I roam, I still call Australia home’.
Reynolds is demanding damages and an injunction against Sharaz over five social media posts, while she is pursuing damages against Higgins over two social media posts in which she accused Reynolds of using the press to harass her.
She has asked for two injunctions preventing Higgins from publishing defamatory material about her and preventing her from breaching a deed of settlement and release the pair signed which contained a non-disparagement clause.
The trio’s lengthy and complex history has prompted Solomon to urge the parties to resolve their differences behind closed doors, highlighting the cost to the parties was not merely financial, but also human.
Subpoenas have been served on Channel 10, journalists Lisa Wilkinson and Samantha Maiden, and Senator Katy Gallagher which may provide evidence for both cases ahead of a six-week trial in July.
In 2021, Higgins alleged she was raped in Reynolds’ parliamentary office by her colleague Bruce Lehrmann.
A criminal trial against Lehrmann, who has maintained his innocence throughout, was aborted last year due to juror misconduct. The charge was dropped, and a retrial was abandoned over fears for Higgins’ mental health.
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