Harry & Meghan: Legal Actions against the Media

[LadyGlendower]

What is the cause of action in the suit other than publishing the letter without Meghan's permission? Are the contents published libelous or slander---are they provable lies? I know they will probably argue malicious intent and the MoS can counter with the way they obtained the letter (given to them by a family member) implies something else. Interesting legal battle if it ever gets to court.

I just can't jump into the Sussex corner on this one.

[ACO]

Well it will seem another lawsuit is brewing. This time versus The Sun and The Mirror for hacking his phone? Wow. No other details except this:

https://www.bylineinvestigates.com/m...ar-on-tabloids

If this is true then that is THREE tabloids that the Sussexes are going to war with. Insanity. It seemed it was filed around the same time as Meghan's suit.

[alvinking]

Like i was guessing from the tone of his statement, it was just beginning.

It seems that Harry is also suing Sun, the News of the World, and the Daily Mirror for unlawful newsgathering activities that stretch back to the editorship of controversial former Editor-turned-celebrity Piers Morgan.

The suit was filed on sept 27.

He is going after Piers Morgan

[Charlie1224]

Originally Posted by LadyGlendower

What is the cause of action in the suit other than publishing the letter without Meghan's permission? Are the contents published libelous or slander---are they provable lies? I know they will probably argue malicious intent and the MoS can counter with the way they obtained the letter (given to them by a family member) implies something else. Interesting legal battle if it ever gets to court..

Based on what I've heard from legal commentators and people in that industry since this broke out, libel is hard to win even if they knowingly published untrue stories. There would have to be proof of malicious intent and hurting the standing of the person, which usually means financial losses as a result of it. That's hard for a working royal to prove as they have no personal for profit deals. Many concluded that's probably why they went for the copyright angle.

ETA: Getting the letter from an estranged family member would be a hard argument to counter malicious intent. Estranged would've been a clue to the contrary for MoS.

[Dman]

Originally Posted by muriel

I am not suggesting that the lawsuit not be pursued though I do have reservations about that as well, especially as Thomas Markle is likely to be complicit in handing the letter to the press.

My point is that the statement from Harry achieves precious little other than making clear that Harry is very distraught at the treatment of Meghan by the Press, and that he is effectively at war with the press at large. IMO, this is counter-productive because:

> You cannot club the Press as one collective group; there are a multitude of journalists and organisations, each with slightly different motivations. Surely some will not be as bad as the others!

> As a member of the BRF you really ought to use the Press to highlight some of the causes you support, rather than become the story yourself, which, in this case, Harry has become.

> Perhaps an old fashioned view, but but I think having a loud, emotional rant never solves anything once you are over five years old. A rationale, focused argument of when and where they have been wronged would have been preferred, if that was indeed the route they wanted to go down.

Well, the Sussexes uses the press to highlight the causes they support within their Royal roles as patron, President and ambassadors to countless organizations, but that doesn’t mean they have to sit back and just take the massive onslaught of abuse from the press. Fighting back against injustice make you become part of the story and that’s a good thing, not a bad thing. If the press stopped abusing the man’s wife, he wouldn’t have to issue strong-worded statements like that.

The old guards of the royal family didn’t have to deal with this kind of abuse from the press in their day. There were a little rumor here and there about them, but deference played a part where the press had more respect for the royal institution and the royals positions. Its 2019 and that’s dead.

People should be far more upset at the way Meghan is being treated than finding fault with Harry’s statement.

[caethi]

Originally Posted by Dman

.

People should be far more upset at the way Meghan is being treated than finding fault with Harry’s statement.

Right on. Be indignant about what really matters.

[Jacknch]

Just as a pre-emptive reminder - and for the continued smooth running of this thread - please be mindful of the Forum Rules if and when discussing individual journalists and the media in general. Discussion on those two subjects must be in the context of the topic of this thread. Thank you.

[LadyGlendower]

Originally Posted by Charlie1224

Based on what I've heard from legal commentators and people in that industry since this broke out, libel is hard to win even if they knowingly published untrue stories. There would have to be proof of malicious intent and hurting the standing of the person, which usually means financial losses as a result of it. That's hard for a working royal to prove as they have no personal for profit deals. Many concluded that's probably why they went for the copyright angle.

ETA: Getting the letter from an estranged family member would be a hard argument to counter malicious intent. Estranged would've been a clue to the contrary for MoS.

Especially when that estranged family member has Thomas Markle's track record!

[BaiSoSo]

Originally Posted by LadyGlendower

What is the cause of action in the suit other than publishing the letter without Meghan's permission? Are the contents published libelous or slander---are they provable lies? I know they will probably argue malicious intent and the MoS can counter with the way they obtained the letter (given to them by a family member) implies something else. Interesting legal battle if it ever gets to court.

I just can't jump into the Sussex corner on this one.

It's about copyright infringement (completely different from slander or libel laws)...although MoS published it to hurt Meghan's reputation.

The Sussexes are contending that MoS broke the law and violated Meghan's copyrights to the letter when they published it without her permission. We see things like that a lot on social media with pictures/music and written documentation. It sounds like there may be other pieces to it as well such as doctoring it for publication.

The Sussexes are within their rights to hold MoS accountable for those actions....it may not seem like it now but it could have an impact on others, as well, the tabloids often disregard the law counting on the hurt part not to take action.

[O-H Anglophile]

Originally Posted by tausi

@Mueriel, You nailed it for me! They have been several huge errors in judgement in the past year including this letter & why bring Princess Diana into this? With so many errors in judgment - I wonder the same thing: is he receiving the right counsel or does he ignore his advisers?

For what it's worth--I went back and read the thread on the Cambridges lawsuit against the Closer magazine for the photos of Catherine they printed. It is worth reading as a refresher on the vileness of the press/social media towards Catherine earlier. There is another level to some of the nastiness about Meghan, but it is not all that.

http://www.theroyalforums.com/forums...a-33704-2.html

There are some parallels to be considered.

And Diana was invoked in the statement about legal action against the French magazine, so Harry wasn't doing something different or unusual for the Wales sons.

https://www.itv.com/news/update/2012...fiable-manner/

[ACO]

Chris Ship confirms the newest lawsuit,

https://twitter.com/chrisshipitv/sta...65343395880960

BREAKING: Prince Harry is to take Sun and Mirror to court over phone hacking.
Now confirmed by Buckingham Palace that claims have been filed on behalf of The Duke of Sussex at the High Court regarding the illegal interception of voicemail messages.

[Osipi]

With all the latest developments, all I can say is that now we *know* the silly season is over with!

[O-H Anglophile]

Originally Posted by muriel

I am not suggesting that the lawsuit not be pursued though I do have reservations about that as well, especially as Thomas Markle is likely to be complicit in handing the letter to the press.



> As a member of the BRF you really ought to use the Press to highlight some of the causes you support, rather than become the story yourself, which, in this case, Harry has become.

The source of the letter obtained by the MoS is not in question and is not part of the lawsuit.

The Royal Family, including Harry & Meghan, do co-operate with the media when they are promoting charitable endeavors. Many of the stories written or broadcast over the 2 years were done without Harry & Meghan having done anything but live their lives--much was dramatized or simply made up.

[LadyGlendower]

I think it's clear the Sussexes prevail on copyright infringement.

Deterrent effect of this type of lawsuit? I dunno. Carol Burnett prevailed in her lawsuit against the National Enquirer and they never touched her again but it can be argued that it did little to keep the same thing from happening to anyone else.

The costs vs benefits of litigation is a complicated calculation it seems.

[Lumutqueen]

Can a MOD confirm if we’re to talk about the two lawsuits in the same thread?

[Zaira]

Originally Posted by Lumutqueen

Can a MOD confirm if we’re to talk about the two lawsuits in the same thread?

Perhaps it should be changed to just Harry and Meghan: Media legal action?

[ACO]

So Harry is suing News Group which owns The Sun and the Times and MGN which owns The Daily Mirror and the Sunday Mirror. While Meghan's suit is hitting the owner of The Mail on Sunday and The Daily Mail.

I think they about covers it.

[Zaira]

https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/...-mirror-meghan

Worth pointing out that the media is speculating the claims relate to hacking, from the early 2000s, but nothing has been confirmed and no public briefing available yet.

[sophie25]

You've got to ask what the end game of this this is going to be. Say he wins these court cases, then what? Does he think he can press the reset button with the media? They will make a point of crucifying him and Meghan forever more and despite the phone hacking and use of the letter by the M on S being the official reasons for Harry's actions it's the constant criticism of his wife that this is about. Unfortunately for him criticising people is not illegal, indeed these court cases are only going to escalate it. Goodness knows where it will all end but it may well be with him leaving the royal family and moving abroad. I actually can't see how they will be able to continue after this. The media will never, ever play ball with them again and they need it to publicise what they do. It's a disaster IMO.

[Elenath]

Originally Posted by sophie25

You've got to ask what the end game if all this is going to be. Say he wins these court cases, then what? Does he think he can press the reset button with the media? They will make a point of crucifying him and Meghan forever more and despite the phone hacking and use of the letter by the M on S it's the constant criticism of his wife that this is really about. Unfortunately for him criticising people is not illegal, indeed these court cases are only going to escalate it. Goodness knows where this will all end.

Well not doing anything won't help either. They are drawing the line and I applaud them for it. The gutter press in the UK wouldn't even recognize a line if it hit them in the face. So now at least they tried.