Mail On Sunday will pay Meghan Markle just £1 in damages for privacy
Mail On Sunday will pay Meghan Markle just £1 in damages for privacy breach after losing court battle over letter to her father
- Meghan Markle sued Associated Newspapers Limited over five articles in 2018
- She said MoS reproduced parts of ‘personal and private’ letter to Thomas Markle
- Meghan won her case last year when judge ruled in her favour without full trial
- ANL brought appeal against decision then challenge was dismissed last month
- ANL will pay additional unspecified sum for infringing her copyright
The Mail On Sunday will pay the Duchess of Sussex just £1 in damages for invading her privacy after losing its appeal in a row over a letter sent to her estranged father, a court document reveals.
Meghan Markle sued Associated Newspapers Limited (ANL) over five articles that reproduced parts of a ‘personal and private’ letter to Thomas Markle in August 2018.
The 40-year-old Duchess won her case last year when a High Court judge ruled in her favour without a full trial – but ANL brought an appeal against that decision.
Then in November, ANL argued the case should go to a trial on Meghan’s claims against the publisher – but the challenge was dismissed by Court of Appeal judges.
ANL, also the publisher of Mail Online, will also now not be appealing at the Supreme Court after considering the matter following the most recent judgment last month.
The publisher will also pay a confidential amount in damages for having ‘infringed her copyright’ by publishing parts of the letter to 77-year-old Mr Markle. ANL is also expected to cover much of Meghan’s legal costs which could run into seven figures.
Meghan sued Associated Newspapers Limited (ANL) over five articles which reproduced parts of a ‘personal and private’ letter to her father Thomas Markle (pictured together) in 2018
At a three-day hearing in November, ANL pushed for the case to go to a trial on Meghan’s claims against it – including breach of privacy and copyright.
The publisher’s lawyers argued that new evidence from Jason Knauf, former communications secretary to the Duke and Duchess of Sussex, suggested Meghan wrote the letter with the understanding that it could be leaked.
ANL’s lawyers had argued that new evidence from former communications secretary Jason Knauf suggested Meghan wrote the letter with the understanding it could be leaked
But the challenge was dismissed by Court of Appeal judges.
On Boxing Day, the Mail on Sunday printed a statement on its front page acknowledging that Meghan won her copyright claim against ANL.
A statement along the bottom of the front page said: ‘The Duchess of Sussex wins her legal case for copyright infringement against Associated Newspapers for articles published in The Mail on Sunday and posted on Mail Online – SEE PAGE 3’
On page three, under the heading ‘The Duchess of Sussex’, it says: ‘Following a hearing on 19-20 January, 2021, and a further hearing on 5 May, 2021, the Court has given judgment for the Duchess of Sussex on her claim for copyright infringement.
‘The Court found that Associated Newspapers infringed her copyright by publishing extracts of her handwritten letter to her father in The Mail on Sunday and on Mail Online. Financial remedies have been agreed.’
A similar notice was published on MailOnline’s homepage as well.
The Duke and Duchess of Sussex leave Westminster Abbey in London on March 9, 2020
Last March, the publisher was ordered to print a statement on the front page of the Mail On Sunday and a notice on page three of the paper stating it ‘infringed her copyright’ by publishing parts of the letter to Mr Markle.
Lord Justice Warby later ruled that the statement did not have to be published ‘in the same position, and be in the same size font, as the front-page trailer complained of’.
But the front-page statement about Meghan’s victory in her copyright claim was put on hold, to allow ANL time to seek permission to appeal.
Meghan said in a statement after the ruling last month: ‘This is a victory not just for me, but for anyone who has ever felt scared to stand up for what’s right.’
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