Prince Harry and other high‑profile figures have been ordered to pay an initial £9.5 million legal bill to the Daily Mail's publisher after losing a court case, a development noted by Canadian and U.S. media observers.
The Duke of Sussex and six other household names will have to stump up an initial £9.5 million to the Daily Mail's publisher for its legal fees over their failed unlawful information gathering claims.
A High Court judge issued the ruling on Friday after a slew of famous faces, including Baroness Doreen Lawrence and Sir Elton John, unsuccessfully sued Associated Newspapers Limited (ANL).
ANL strongly denied the claims which were heard at an 11‑week trial in London earlier this year, with judge Mr Justice Nicklin dismissing all the cases in a judgment on July 7.
The cases returned to the High Court for a two‑day hearing over costs, where the court was told ANL's total costs were more than £34 million.
Legal Costs Ordered
On Friday, Mr Justice Nicklin gave his decision on the size of an initial payment the group will make to ANL, as well as how the full costs will be assessed.
The court has ruled the Mail publisher can seek further costs.
In his ruling, Mr Justice Nicklin said the claims brought against Associated Newspapers were "speculative and substantially inferential" and "lacked a proper evidential foundation".
Associated Newspapers called the costs judgment 'a devastating critique of an attempt to destroy a newspaper and the reputations of its journalists, editors and executives'.
Implications for North American Media
The decision is being watched by Canadian publishers who face similar privacy and defamation challenges, and by U.S. media firms that have been involved in high‑profile lawsuits over reporting practices.
Legal experts say the case underscores the financial risks of pursuing costly litigation against large newspaper groups in North America.
The ruling comes after it was made public on Wednesday that Harry and his wife the Duchess of Sussex are moving back to the UK.
The couple decamped to California more than six years ago amid the Megxit crisis but now will relocate back from the US to the UK later this month to live in a non‑royal residence outside London.
ANL, which also publishes the Mail on Sunday, had asked for more than £9.9 million as an interim payment ahead of future hearings to decide its legal costs in depth.
Lawyers for the group of household names, also including David Furnish, Sadie Frost, Liz Hurley and Sir Simon Hughes, argued the interim payment should be just over £7.9 million.