Brittany Higgins has been ordered to pay 80% of the legal costs incurred by her former boss, Linda Reynolds, following a defamation case. The ruling was made by Justice Paul Tottle of the Western Australian Supreme Court. The legal costs are estimated to exceed $1 million.

The defamation case stemmed from social media posts made by Higgins and her partner, David Sharaz, which were deemed damaging to Reynolds' reputation. In a July 2023 Instagram story, Higgins shared a screenshot of headlines regarding Reynolds' plans to refer Higgins' $2.445 million personal injury settlement to a federal anti-corruption body. The posts accused Reynolds of mishandling Higgins' allegations of rape and engaging in harassment.

In a judgment delivered last month, Justice Tottle awarded Reynolds $315,000 in damages, along with $26,000 in interest. The judge found that Higgins had defamed Reynolds on three occasions through her social media activity. The court documents revealed that Higgins had attempted to settle the case just days before the trial began, offering $200,000 to cover Reynolds' legal fees. This offer included a statement of mutual regret from both women and a $10,000 donation to a women's charity.

However, the judge noted that the settlement offer did not provide any vindication for Reynolds. Justice Tottle stated, "The offer did not provide the plaintiff with any vindication of her reputation," and described the proposed mutual statement as falling short of an apology. He characterized it as merely an agreement to disagree.

Reynolds expressed disappointment that the case took over four years to resolve, involving multiple court actions and significant financial costs. The defamation ruling follows a previous federal court decision that found Bruce Lehrmann, a former colleague of Higgins, had raped her in 2019. Lehrmann is currently appealing that verdict.

In a separate matter, Reynolds has raised concerns about a potential conflict of interest involving former Attorney-General Mark Dreyfus regarding the settlement between Higgins and the Commonwealth. The National Anti-Corruption Commission recently concluded that there were no corruption issues related to the payout to Higgins.