Vic judge weighs up Hird legal bill case

A Victorian Supreme Court justice is considering whether an insurer should be liable to pay former Essendon coach James Hird's $700,000 legal bill.

Hird sued the AFL club's insurer after Chubb Insurance refused to pay the legal costs of his failed challenge against the Australian Sports Anti-Doping Authority in the Federal Court in 2014,and a subsequent appeal that he lost in 2015.

The insurer argued in the Victorian Supreme Court that the bill was Hird's responsibility because he took ASADA to court even though it hadn't accused him of wrongdoing.

Hird's legal team said he incurred $691,990 in legal fees while defending himself and the team when he challenged whether ASADA's probe into the use of prohibited substances at the club was lawful.

The insurer told Hird in 2015 that his ASADA trial and appeal were "not reasonably incurred" and therefore not covered by its policy.

After two days of legal submissions ended on Wednesday, Justice Kim Hargrave reserved his decision.