UK court to hear Meghan Markle’s privacy case against British newspaper

Former
actor Meghan Markle’s high-profile lawsuit against a British newspaper group
for alleged privacy and copyright violations is expected to resume in London’s
court on Tuesday reports AFP.

The
case, filed in October 2019, alleges that the media reporters acted ‘dishonestly
and in bad faith’ while ‘deliberately dug up or stirred conflict’ between her
and her estranged father, Thomas.

Markle claimed that they (reporters) had an “obvious agenda of publishing intrusive or offensive
stories” which were “intended to portray her in a false and damaging
light”.

Duchess of Sussex is suing publishers of the Mail, Daily Mail and MailOnline.

Meanwhile, on the trial front, Judge
Mark Warby approved an earlier application by the duchess for the trial to be
postponed. Her legal team instead asked for a judgment to be made without the
need for a full trial.

If the court rules in the Duchess’s favour, which is highly likely to happen according to reports, then the case is over, bar an
appeal.

On the other hand, if Meghan loses, then the suit will go to a full trial later this year, possibly forcing
Meghan and her estranged father to face each other in court to give testimony.

As far as the defense council is concerned, the UK High Court  permitted the newspaper group to amend its defence against
the claim after which ‘Associated’ accused Meghan of giving the authors Omid Scobie and Carolyn Durand details about the letter to portray her version of events in a more favourable light.

The
news group also claimed that Meghan wanted to use the hand-written letter “as part
of a media strategy” and discussed it with royal communications officials
before it was sent.

Meanwhile, The
Duke and Duchess of Sussex, who quit frontline royal duties in March citing
media intrusion, have denied being involved in the publication of the book,
“Finding Freedom”.

Notably, the Duchess along with her husband, Harry, filed another lawsuit in July 2020 after their 14-month-old son, Archie Harrison Mountbatten-Windsor, was photographed with a drone while playing with his maternal grandmother in their backyard, according to a report in the New York Times.