- Brittany Higgins likely to face bankruptcy
- Linda Reynolds escalates bankruptcy claim
Brittany Higgins may be declared bankrupt in the Federal Court today, just weeks after she dropped her appeal against former Liberal Senator Linda Reynold’s defamation win.
Reynolds has applied for a creditors petition against Higgins in a dramatic escalation of her bankruptcy proceedings against the former staffer.
Reynolds’s legal team also reportedly plans to ask the court for a sequestration order allowing a trustee in bankruptcy to take control of Higgins’ financial affairs.
It is unclear whether Higgins intends to oppose the order, first reported by The Australian, but she is not expected to make an appearance in the Perth court.
Should the court approve the order, the next step would be for a trustee in bankruptcy to take control of Higgins’ financial affairs with Reynolds as a creditor of the estate.
Reynolds claimed a series of social media posts made by Higgins and partner David Sharaz in 2022 and 2023 led to her suffering health issues, damaged her reputation and stymied her career.
In August, the WA Supreme Court awarded Reynolds $315,000 in damages plus $26,000 in interest and Higgins was ordered to pay 80 per cent of her legal fees, which, combined with her own legal bills, is an estimated $2million bill.
The ruling followed a highly-publicised trial last year in which Reynolds accused Higgins of executing an orchestrated campaign to end her political career.
The former defence minister is also pursuing bankruptcy against Higgins’ husband David Sharaz to recover damages for defamation. He is expected to face a hearing in December.
A month later, Higgins’ lawyers lodged an appeal on the defamation ruling, meaning that any bankruptcy proceedings were stalled until after it was finalised.
The former staffer has since abandoned the appeal.
Daily Mail has contacted Higgins for comment. Mr Sharaz declined to comment.
More to come.
Former Senator Linda Reynolds (above) has escalated her bankruptcy claim against Higgins
Ms Higgins and her husband David Sharaz (pictured) defamed the former Senator in a series of social media posts, a court held
