Amber Harrison’s aborted bid to sue her former employer, Channel Seven, could prove an expensive exercise with reports the network may pursue their former employee for costs totalling in the hundreds of thousands of dollars.
On Friday afternoon Harrison sensationally announced she would no longer be taking any action against Seven in the NSW Supreme Court for failing to provide a safe workplace. The case was due to start today. It is now expected that Seven will be seeking a full cost order against Harrison.
Harrison has agreed to a court-ordered gag that prevents her from talking publicly about her affair with Seven CEO Tim Worner or releasing sensitive documents that are allegedly in her possession.
“I have made a realistic assessment of the court case and am choosing not to run it on Monday. I’ve asked my legal team not to represent me,” Harrison tweeted.
Both Seven and Harrison had been attempting to mediate a resolution for the past month. Seven’s final offer was $50,000 towards Harrison’s legal expenses, plus the broadcaster wanted an apology after Harrison (falsely) named other Seven employees that Worner had allegedly had affairs with. Harrison, however, refused the offer.
“Negotiations broke down this morning because I refused to put my name to a broad public ‘apology,’ and expression of ‘regret,’” she revealed on Twitter.
It’s understood that Harrison said she’d walk away from the case if both parties agreed to pay for their own legal bills. Harrison, who is unemployed, is using prominent barrister Julian Burnside on a pro-bono basis.
However, Seven has reportedly said it will now chase Harrison for costs. Some had speculated its legal bill could be as high as $1 million; however, The Australian Financial Review has today suggested the figure is more likely to be around the $250,000-mark.
“I will file for bankruptcy immediately,” Harrison said in an email to The AFR. “I wouldn’t ‘apologise’ for 50K. So this is where we land.”
Meanwhile, in an interview with the ABC over the weekend, Harrison said she was sick of the whole affair and was “absolutely looking forward to them being out of my life”.
“I have people reach out to me weekly, with offers,” she said. “I’m going to be just fine. I’ve got absolutely no fears for the future.”
