Meghan Markle Suffers Setback in Privacy Case Against Daily Mail

published 1 May 2020

In the case between Meghan Markle and the Daily Mail publishers, Meghan suffered a recent legal setback.
Parts of her claim were struck out for being irrelevant, complicated, and not meeting procedural requirements. The case will still move forward.
Meghan reportedly feels that if the press treatment of her had been experienced by Kate Middleton, the Royal Family would have done something about it.

In Meghan Markle's ongoing legal case over her privacy (launched after the Daily Mail published excerpts of a private letter between her and her father), she had a setback today. The judge struck out part of her claim against the Mail on Sunday's publisher Associated Newspapers, in which she claimed that the paper acted "dishonestly" by only publishing parts of it, that it "stirred up" the problems between her and her father, and that it had an "agenda" to publish nasty and defamatory stories about her.

According to royal reporter Omid Scobie, the elements were eliminated because they were judged irrelevant, litigating them would be "disproportionately complicated," and procedural requirements hadn't been met. Meghan's not appealing the ruling. A spokesperson for the lawyers representing Meghan said, in part:

"Today's ruling makes very clear that the core elements of this case do not change and will continue to move forward...the extremes to which The Mail on Sunday used distortive, manipulative, and dishonest tactics to target The Duchess of Sussex have been put on full display...we are surprised to see that [the Judge's] ruling suggests that dishonest behavior is not relevant...Nonetheless, we respect the Judge's decision as the strong case against Associated will continue to focus on the issue of a private, intimate and hand-written letter from a daughter to her father."

Per Scobie, "It was conceded by Mail on Sunday’s legal rep that this ruling will not affect Meghan’s ability 'to get home' on the case." And these elements could be brought back in if done in a relevant, procedurally accurate way later on in the case. So there's still hope, is what I'm saying.

Another rough setback? The legal costs:

Associated Newspapers say they will ask the Duchess of Sussex to pay their legal costs of in excess of £50,000 after the couple refused their offer to deal with the strike-out issue out of court. She will also have to pay her own costs for the hearing last week.May 1, 2020

We'll have to wait and see what happens as the case develops.

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Katherine’s a contributing syndications editor at Marie Claire who covers fashion, culture, and lifestyle. In her role, she writes stories that are syndicated by MSN and other outlets. She’s been a full-time freelancer for over a decade and has had roles with Cosmopolitan (where she covered lifestyle, culture, and fashion SEO content) and Bustle (where she was their movies and culture writer). She has bylines in New York Times, Parents, InStyle, Refinery29, and elsewhere. Her work has also been syndicated by ELLE, Harper’s Bazaar, Seventeen, Good Housekeeping, and Women’s Health, among others. In addition to her stories reaching millions of readers, content she's written and edited has qualified for a Bell Ringer Award and received a Communicator Award.

Katherine has a BA in English and art history from the University of Notre Dame and an MA in art business from the Sotheby's Institute of Art (with a focus on marketing/communications). She covers a wide breadth of topics: she's written about how to find the very best petite jeans, how sustainable travel has found its footing on Instagram, and what it's like to be a professional advice-giver in the modern world. Her personal essays have run the gamut from learning to dress as a queer woman to navigating food allergies as a mom. She also has deep knowledge of SEO/EATT, affiliate revenue, commerce, and social media; she regularly edits the work of other writers. She speaks at writing-related events and podcasts about freelancing and journalism, mentors students and other new writers, and consults on coursework. Currently, Katherine lives in Boston with her husband and two kids, and you can follow her on Instagram. If you're wondering about her last name, it’s “I go to dinner,” not “Her huge ego,” but she responds to both.