Brittany Higgins has been ordered to pay a significant portion of the legal expenses incurred by her former boss, Linda Reynolds, following a defamation trial that concluded last month. Justice Paul Tottle ruled in August that Higgins had defamed Reynolds through a series of social media posts. In a recent decision, he mandated that Higgins must cover 80 percent of Reynolds's legal costs, which are estimated to be in the high hundreds of thousands of dollars.

Reynolds, who has since retired from politics, successfully sued Higgins over three social media posts made in 2022 and 2023. She was awarded $315,000 in damages along with $26,000 in interest. Reynolds argued that the posts severely damaged her reputation and caused her significant distress, particularly during a time of health issues.

Higgins had requested that her financial responsibility for legal costs be limited to two-thirds of Reynolds's expenses. She also sought to cap her lawyer Martin Bennett's fees at a maximum of $781 per hour. However, Reynolds contended that Bennett's fees should not be capped and that the costs should reflect the hiring of a full legal team, which included two instructing solicitors, another lawyer, and a paralegal.

In a judgment released on Tuesday, it was revealed that Higgins attempted to settle the case just four days before the trial began. She offered a $200,000 payment towards Reynolds's legal fees, which was to be funded by her parents. This settlement proposal included a "statement of mutual regret" from both parties and a $10,000 donation to a women's refuge in Queensland. However, Justice Tottle deemed the offer "unreasonable," stating it did not provide Reynolds with any vindication of her reputation.

Tottle noted that the proposed statement of mutual regret "fell short of an apology by a substantial margin" and suggested that it would imply Higgins still believed the defamatory statements were true. He remarked, "I am satisfied the defendant's failure to make a settlement offer was unreasonable."

During the defamation proceedings, Reynolds accused Higgins of conspiring to end her political career through a coordinated campaign. However, Justice Tottle rejected this claim, which led to a 20 percent reduction in the costs Higgins is required to pay.