Prince Harry lost his court case against Daily Mail publisher Associated Newspapers Limited (ANL) over allegations of unlawful information gathering for stories published between 1997 and 2015 on Tuesday, July 7th. And as if that devastating loss wasn’t enough, a U.K. High Court judge ruled on Friday, August 21st that he and the other claimants now have to pay millions towards the publisher’s legal costs!
According to reports, Prince Harry and the six other claimants – including Sir Elton John, Elizabeth Hurley, and Baroness Doreen Lawrence, whose son Stephen Lawrence was murdered in 1993 – have been ordered to make an initial £9.54M ($13M) payment towards ANL’s legal costs. And that’s not necessarily the end of it, as the final amount they will have to pay has yet to be determined. They don’t have long to come up with this initial payment either, as it’s due by August 28th – 4 p.m., to be exact. Yikes!
Could losing the court case and facing such a huge legal bill be one of the real reasons he and Meghan Markle want to move back to the U.K.? It’s certainly something that has been floated online!
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Prince Harry Calls Privacy Lawsuit Loss A 'Complete And Obvious Whitewash'
According to the BBC, Mr Justice Nicklin said the claimants failed to prove the allegations of unlawful information gathering, leading to his ruling. A spokesperson for the publisher described the judgment as an "overwhelming victory for the Daily Mail and its journalists."
A statement released by Prince Harry and Lawrence read at the time: "We came to Court seeking justice and accountability. But we have received neither."
"It is a complete and obvious whitewash, but sadly not altogether unexpected," the statement continued. "The lengths to which the Court has gone to exonerate the Mail is as shocking as it is totally unwarranted."
Prince Harry And Other Claimants Ordered To Pay $13M Towards ANL's Legal Costs
The £9.54M ($13M) payment is only an initial payment towards ANL's legal costs, and the final amount the claimants will have to pay has yet to be determined. ANL is seeking approximately £34.5M in total, although the judge himself raised concerns about the size of that figure.
"I regard a claim for costs in excess of £34M 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," Mr Justice Nicklin said. However, he declined to put a limit on how much ANL could ultimately recover, saying doing so "would risk unfairness" and could be considered "arbitrary."
The judge was also highly critical of the way the Spare author and the other claimants pursued the case, describing their conduct as "unreasonable to a high degree." He also said it was "striking" that "not a single allegation of serious wrongdoing was voluntarily withdrawn" by the group.
"That matters. Serious allegations of criminality or grave impropriety cannot properly be left hanging over individuals in that way," he said. The final legal bill could become particularly costly for the claimants, as their insurance reportedly only covers up to £16M…
"The consequences are significant," Iain Wilson, managing partner at the law firm Brett Wilson, told CNN. "The Mail can now seek costs well above the court-approved budget and the £16M insurance cap." Wilson added, "While it is unlikely the Mail will recover its full £34.5M claim, any award exceeding £16M must be paid by the claimants personally."
