Brittany Higgins has been declared bankrupt by a federal judge following a bitter court battle with her former boss Linda Reynolds.
The ex-Liberal Senator launched the legal action after winning a defamation case against Ms Higgins earlier this year.
Reynolds is now pursuing the new mum for damages and legal costs arising from the defamation suit, with the bill estimated to be well in excess of $1million.
The bankruptcy was declared on Friday after Federal Court Justice Michael Feutrill ordered Ms Higgins estate be sequestrated in bankruptcy backdated to October.
‘(The estate will) be handed over to the trustee of the bankruptcy who will take control of her affairs and deal with the creditors in due course,’ Ms Reynolds’ lawyer Rachel Ross told reporters outside the court in Perth.
She said it would be up to the trustee to determine if Ms Higgins maintained any of the $2.4m compensation payout she received from the Commonwealth in 2022.
Ms Higgins’ husband David Sharaz was also served with a bankruptcy notice by Reynolds and is expected to declare bankruptcy.
He was also found to have defamed the former politician and was ordered to pay $85,000 in damages plus interest and costs.
Brittany Higgins (pictured) has been declared bankrupt after she was found to have defamed her former boss, ex-Liberal Senator Linda Reynolds in a series of social media posts
Former Liberal Senator Linda Reynolds won a defamation suit against Ms Higgins this year
Ms Higgins shared an image of herself, Mr Sharaz and their youngster on a trip to Byron Bay to social media this morning, writing: ‘Big thank-you to dad for shouting us the flights for my b’day and making it happen.’
Reynolds’ high-profile defamation victory over Ms Higgins concerned a series of social media posts the former defence minister believed damaged her reputation.
She was awarded damages of $315,000 plus $26,109 interest after Western Australia’s Supreme Court in August found some of the posts were defamatory.
Ms Higgins was also ordered to pay 80 per cent of her former boss’ legal costs, which are estimated to be about $1.5m.
Reynolds’ lawyer, Martin Bennett, previously said the bankruptcy would allow Reynolds to find out how much of Ms Higgins’ commonwealth settlement remained as she attempted to recoup her legal costs for the defamation case.
Ms Higgins apologised to Reynolds after the former defence minister emerged victorious from the duo’s high-profile five-week defamation trial.
Justice Paul Tottle found Ms Higgins’ social media posts carried an array of imputations.
They included that Reynolds engaged in a campaign of harassment against Ms Higgins, mishandled her rape allegation and engaged in questionable conduct during Bruce Lehrmann’s aborted criminal trial for rape.
Bruce Lehrmann (pictured) was found on the civil balance of probabilities to have raped Ms Higgins in Parliament House in 2019. He has always maintained his innocence
The 360-page judgment made factual findings about the events involving Reynolds and Ms Higgins, including her alleged 2019 rape and the events in the years after it.
Ms Higgins made 26 false or misleading statements in media interviews after her alleged sexual assault, the judgment said.
She alleges former co-worker Lehrmann raped her in the senator’s ministerial suite.
A Federal Court judge overseeing a defamation case launched by Lehrmann against Network Ten found Ms Higgins was, on the balance of probabilities, raped by her former co-worker in the office.
Lehrmann has lost an appeal against that finding but has flagged taking the case to the High Court.
He denies the rape allegation and his criminal trial was derailed by juror misconduct.
More to come.