UK media lawyer on Meghan's privacy court ruling

(11 Feb 2021) Media lawyer Mark Stephens said the Mail on Sunday will likely go to the Court of Appeal after a judge ruled in favour of the Duchess of Sussex's privacy and copyright claims against the newspaper.
The former American actress Meghan Markle, 39, sued publisher Associated Newspapers for invasion of privacy and copyright infringement over five February 2019 articles in the Mail on Sunday and on the MailOnline website that published large portions of a letter she wrote to her father, Thomas Markle, after her 2018 wedding to Prince Harry.
High Court judge Mark Warby ruled that the publisher had misused the duchess's private information.
Speaking via video call to The Associated Press, Stephens - known for representing James Hewitt over allegations of his affair with Diana, Princess of Wales - said both the claims of privacy and copyright infringement, from the newspaper's perspective, needs to be definitely defined.
"The Mail on Sunday almost have to take it to appeal because the state of privacy laws in a mess in this country and they need a definitive statement," Stephens said.
The judge said the duchess "had a reasonable expectation that the contents of the letter would remain private. The Mail articles interfered with that reasonable expectation."
Meghan said she was grateful to the court for holding Associated Newspapers to account "for their illegal and dehumanizing practices."
Associated Newspapers said it was "very surprised by today's summary judgment and disappointed at being denied the chance to have all the evidence heard and tested in open court at a full trial."
A trial had been scheduled for the fall, and would have been one of the most high-profile civil legal showdowns in London for years.
But at hearings last month, lawyers for the duchess asked for a summary judgment to settle the case without a trial.
The judge agreed, saying the publisher's disclosures of large chunks of Meghan's private letter "were manifestly excessive and hence unlawful."
Stephens, however cautioned that the legal saga might be far from over for Meghan.
"She may not be allowed to walk off the pitch. She may have to go through an appeal yet. So, this is just round one."

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