While the rest of us are scouring the internet for hints about this weekend’s tell-all interview between Oprah Winfrey, Prince Harry, and Meghan Markle, the Duchess of Sussex has been busy taking care of business in the courts, finally seeing some retribution for the years of privacy breaches and media harassment she endured while a part of the British royal family. After a court ruling — no trial necessary — that Associated Newspaper had violated Meghan’s privacy with its publication of her private letter to father Thomas Markle weeks before the royal wedding, the Duchess has now filed a request for over $2 million in legal fees to be paid by the outlet. And according to a new report, the courts have already ruled that the paper will be liable for 90% — a cool $1.87 million.
As reported by HuffPost, Meghan and her legal team filed a request Tuesday for £1.5 million ($2.1 million) in legal fees. Per royal reported Omid Scobie, the High Court ruled later that day assigning the Mail on Sunday responsibility for 90% of those fees, with a payment of $627,000 due within 14 days.”
“The High Court today ruled that the Mail on Sunday should pay 90% of legal costs ($1.87m) incurred by Meghan’s side for her privacy and copyright case,” Scobie tweeted. “Justice Warby calculated the sum based ‘on matters on which she succeeded.’ The Mail’s publisher ANL had hoped to pay just 75%.”
The High Court today ruled that the Mail on Sunday should pay 90% of legal costs ($1.87m) incurred by Meghan's side for her privacy and copyright case. Justice Warby calculated the sum based "on matters on which she succeeded.” The Mail’s publisher ANL had hoped to pay just 75%.
— Omid Scobie (@scobie) March 2, 2021
“After stating their grounds of appeal, the Mail on Sunday has been denied permission to appeal last month’s verdict,” he added. “The Mail’s publisher—who have been ordered to initially pay £450k ($627k) of Meghan’s legal costs in the next 14 days—can still apply to the Court of Appeal.”
This is hardly a payday for Meghan, as she’s still stuck with 10% of these not-insignificant legal fees and fancy more legal battles ahead as she sets about righting the wrongs of her paparazzi coverage. For the Duchess, it seems to be just as much about setting a new standard of what’s considered acceptable as it is about seeing any material change regarding her own legacy. In the request for legal fees, her lawyers also requested that the infringing publications publish a front-page notice stating that Meghan had won her case, writing: “The first reason why the claimant seeks an order for publication and dissemination is to act as a deterrent to future infringers.”
Going forward, Meghan won’t accept this kind of invasion of privacy without a raging defense and a court case if needed. And as she seeks to hold the media fully responsible in the eyes of the public for the offenses it has committed, it seems clear she hopes they will think twice before using these tactics on anyone else.
Before you go, click here to see the most important celebrity lawsuits over the past 15 years.
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