Brittany Higgins has dropped her appeal over a Supreme Court judgment that found she defamed her former boss Linda Reynolds in social media posts.

The high-profile defamation trial played out over five weeks in the Western Australian Supreme Court last year, with more than 20 witnesses giving evidence as it re-examined Higgins’ alleged rape by fellow staffer Bruce Lehrmann in 2019 and the events that followed.

Former Liberal senator Reynolds had claimed that her reputation was damaged by social media posts made by Higgins.

In his long-awaited ruling handed down in August, Justice Paul Tottle agreed she had been defamed, but found one of the posts was made on the basis of an honestly held opinion, fair comment and qualified privilege.

He awarded Reynolds damages of $315,000 plus $26,000 in interest. Higgins was also ordered to pay 80 per cent of Reynolds’ legal costs.

Higgins last month filed an appeal against elements of the judgment, including the costs order. ABC News reported this week that she had now lodged a notice to discontinue the appeal with the Supreme Court.

Higgins’ decision comes just a week after the former staffer was dealt another financial blow when Reynolds launched bankruptcy proceedings against her to the recoup costs awarded from her defamation win.

At the time, the former senator claimed Higgins had “failed to comply” with a bankruptcy notice issued to her several weeks earlier.

“It is unfortunate that I have to take this step in this long-running saga,” she said.

“As I have said, this is conduct which comes as no surprise to me. However, what should be plain now is that I am committed to seeing this through to the end.”

Reynolds has also served Higgins’ husband, David Sharaz, with similar bankruptcy proceedings.

Lawyers acting for the former senator have said previously that her legal bill exceeded $1 million.

The social media posts at the centre of the defamation trial were published four years after Higgins alleged she was raped in Reynolds’ Parliament House office by her then colleague Lehrmann.

Tottle found Higgins’ social media posts were defamatory after they implied Reynolds engaged in a campaign of harassment against Higgins, mishandled her rape allegation and engaged in questionable conduct during Lehrmann’s aborted criminal trial for rape.

In his 360-page judgment, Tottle said Higgins was “prone to […] speculating both on events and motives of others and presenting the resulting mix as fact”.

It was thought the judgment would put an end to what has been described as a “bitter and lengthy saga of accusations and counter-accusations” between the two women.

Lehrmann has always denied the rape allegation and his criminal trial was derailed by juror misconduct. However, a Federal Court judge overseeing a defamation case he launched against Network Ten found Higgins was, on the balance of probabilities, raped by Lehrmann in the office.

He has appealed that finding.

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