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Prince Harry, Elton John ordered to pay $9.5M in Mail case costs
Judge ordered the £9.54 million interim payment by Aug. 28 on an indemnity basis after the privacy case was dismissed as relying on speculative allegations. The claimants face a total legal bill of £34.5 million.
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LONDON, Aug 22 (AlphaScala) – A British judge ordered Prince Harry, singer Elton John and five other claimants to pay £9.54 million in interim legal costs to Daily Mail publisher Associated Newspapers, a decisive financial penalty after their privacy lawsuit collapsed last month.
Justice Matthew Nicklin’s costs order, published Friday, requires the payment by August 28. The judge directed that the costs be paid on an indemnity basis, meaning Associated does not have to prove the expenses were reasonable or proportionate.
The ruling deepens a legal defeat for Harry, 41, who spent months in court accusing the Mail titles of phone hacking and other unlawful information-gathering. Nicklin rejected the case in July after an 11-week trial, saying the claimants relied on “speculative and inferential” allegations and had not withdrawn them when they were no longer actively pursued.
“In my judgment, the cumulative effect of these matters takes the case well outside the norm. The conduct was unreasonable to a high degree,” Nicklin wrote in the costs ruling.
Associated's total legal bill hit £34.5 million ($45.8 million), the court was told in July. Harry and the other claimants held an insurance policy covering just £16 million, leaving the group to cover the difference from personal funds.