After losing their privacy case against the publisher of the Daily Mail, Prince Harry, Elton John and other claimants now face a multi-million-dollar legal bill. According to court records, the celebrities had sued ANL for alleged unlawful information gathering, including phone hacking.
On Friday (8.21,) in a judgment issued by Mr Justice Nicklin, the seven high-profile claimants were ordered to make an interim payment of $13,000,000.00 towards the legal costs incurred by Associated Newspapers Limited (ANL), in defending the case.
Including Elizabeth Hurley and John’s husband David Furnish, the claimants must now pay the initial figure by 4pm on August 28, 2026.
Dismissing the claims on July 7 after the trial, Justice Nicklin ruled that the outstanding amount should be paid on an “indemnity basis”, with Elton John and the others paying towards ANL’s legal costs without the publisher required to prove the sum was reasonable, and ruling that the group’s claims rested on “speculative and inferential” foundations and their conduct “was unreasonable to a high degree”.
At a hearing in July, ANL’s representatives alleged they had incurred a legal bill of $47,000,000.00, while the claimants only had an insurance policy which covered just over $22,000,000.00
According to BBC News, in his ruling, Justice Nicklin noted that ANL’s costs were “excessive”, hinting that the group may not have to pay the full amount, adding:
“I regard a claim for costs in excess of £34 million as, on its face, excessive and as giving rise to real concerns as to whether all of the costs now claimed by Associated were reasonably incurred and are reasonable in amount.”
The claimants – who also include actress Sadie Frost, politician Sir Simon Hughes and campaigner Baroness Doreen Lawrence – have until October 2 to appeal the decision.
On Friday (8.21,) ANL’s reps stated that the ruling was “a devastating critique of an attempt to destroy a newspaper and the reputations of its journalists, editors and executives”.
The aforementioned decision comes days after it was revealed that Prince Harry, his wife Meghan and their children Archie and Lilibet are moving back to the U.K. later this month after six years in California.
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Author: Al Dente
Photo: Raph_PH