Meghan Markle defeated in lawsuit against the Mail

Meghan Markle is set to shell out £67,000 after her lawsuit against the Mail failed. She lost in the first round of the legal battle and agreed to pay the legal cost.

Meghan Markle filed a privacy-infringement lawsuit against the Associated Newspapers Limited (ANL), the publisher of MailOnline.

The details of the lawsuit

She is suing the company for publishing articles that included parts of the handwritten letter sent to her by her estranged father, Thomas Markle, as per the Daily Mail.

The Duchess of Sussex is seeking damages for data protection breach, supposed misuse of private information, and copyright infringement. The Associated Newspapers stated that it would challenge contest the claim.

Meghan Markle also accused the paper of trying to release the names of her five friends who gave an interview about her to People in 2019.

She said that this action is “vicious” and something that could ruin her friends’ mental health. The former Suits actress further said that the publication is only doing this for “clickbait.”

Blocking the release of Meghan Markle’s anonymous friends’ names

Her legal team applied to stop the Associated Newspaper from revealing her friends’ names. They also submitted the duchess’ witness statement to the court.

“Associated Newspapers, the owner of the Daily Mail and the Mail on Sunday, is threatening to publish the names of five women,” part of her statement read as published by The Telegraph.

“Five private citizens – who made a choice on their own to speak anonymously with a U.S. media outlet more than a year ago, to defend me from the bullying behavior of Britain’s tabloid media.”

 

 

 

 

 

She added that the five women are not on trial, and “it is this publisher that acted unlawfully and is attempting to evade accountability – to create a circus and distract from the point of this case – that the Mail on Sunday unlawfully published my private letter.”

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The Duke and Duchess of Sussex joined hundreds of veterans and their families at the 91st Field of Remembrance at Westminster Abbey, to honour and remember those who lost their lives in service of their country. Their Royal Highnesses each planted a Cross of Remembrance, paying respect to those who have served in our Armed Forces. They were then honoured to spend time meeting with veterans and family members from all areas of the Armed forces – from those who have served in past campaigns to more recent conflicts. This is the seventh time The Duke has attended the Field of Remembrance – having previously accompanied The Duke of Edinburgh for several years. The Duchess of Sussex was grateful to be able to join her husband on this important day and to personally recognise those who have served. #remembrance #lestweforget

A post shared by The Duke and Duchess of Sussex (@sussexroyal) on Nov 7, 2019 at 6:16am PST

Responding to the allegation, The Mail on Sunday’s spokesperson stated they had no intention of revealing her friends’ names. However, they want the question of their anonymity to be properly considered by the court.

“Their evidence is at the heart of the case and we see no reason why their identities should be kept secret,” the spokesman added.

The second round of the legal battle

Meghan Markle may have lost, but this is only the first round, and they are preparing to go to the second phase of the legal battle.

She intends to keep on fighting to protect the identities of her pals, who were named in the lawsuit’s documents.

It was said that the duchess freely disclosed the names of her friends, but she only did so for the proceedings. She will protect their privacy until the end, so the legal battle will continue.

Featured Image Courtesy of DFree/Shutterstock