Harry & Meghan: Legal Actions against the Media


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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.
 
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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
 
LadyGlendower said:
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..
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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. :lol:
 
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muriel said:
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.
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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.
 
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.
 
Charlie1224 said:
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. :lol:
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Especially when that estranged family member has Thomas Markle's track record!;)
 
LadyGlendower said:
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.
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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.
 
tausi said:
@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?
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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/forum...each-of-privacy-september-2012-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/201...a-grotesque-and-totally-unjustifiable-manner/
 
Chris Ship confirms the newest lawsuit,

https://twitter.com/x/status/1180165343395880960

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.
 
With all the latest developments, all I can say is that now we *know* the silly season is over with! :D
 
muriel said:
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.
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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.
 
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.
 
Can a MOD confirm if we’re to talk about the two lawsuits in the same thread?
 
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.
 
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.
 
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sophie25 said:
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.
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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.
 
Zaira said:
https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news...gal-proceedings-against-sun-and-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.
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From what I gathered it was confirmed by the palace it is over hacked voicemails. It seems this is the old case and Harry is seeking legal action now.

sophie25 said:
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.
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You are right that criticizing people is not illegal but hacking and publishing private property without consent are and that is where they are hitting them. The Sussexes are taking very real legal actions where they can.

Some members of the media already have threatened to not cover their stuff. If that is what they want.... go for it. Will be interesting to see how long it lasts. No one should not do what is right in fear that the people who wronged you will retaliate. This is now up to the courts.
 
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Elenath said:
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.
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Well yes he can do what he likes but I don't think he's looking at the long term picture. The bottom line is he hates them criticising Meghan so he decides to p.. s them off even more. As I said, even if he wins, so what? Maybe these papers won't ever phone hack again or use private correspondence in a story but the day after the trial they are free to resume tearing the Sussex's apart and I'm sure they will do it with glee.
 
Just a reminder. This thread is about Harry and Meghan and their legal action against media outlets. Let’s stay away from rehashing the events leading up to H&M’s wedding and Meghan's relationship with her dad. Let’s also stop with the speculation that the BRF are against the Sussexes/behind some of the negative headlines. Any further off-topic comments will be deleted.
 
One Court case looks fine.. three looks like 'overkill' to many.

None of this will quiet the Press who [as sophie25 has noted] will simply resume, with renewed vigour after the cases are done [win or lose].
 
sophie25 said:
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.
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Looking at the end game from my point of view is that even win or lose the cases, the cases are perhaps going to make the general public more aware of just what games these people that have, what seems like, no scruples are playing. Its standing up and taking bullying to a global level with as much popularity the Sussex family is garnering right now. With the public following these court cases and seeing actual legal reasons for filing lawsuits in the first place, more and more people will be aware that they're being fed half truths, exaggerated, malicious and even totally fabricated stories and cease to pay attention to these publications.

I do not *ever* see Harry leaving the royal family or leaving the UK as the both of them have a lot of work they want to get done and will continue doing so. If anyone is going to lose out in various ways, its the defendants in these cases. I'd not be surprised if even those that advertise in these mediums pull their ads out.

The British monarchy, as an institution, has been around for over 1000 years. The fourth estate is losing more and more ground as time passes. I'll place my bet on the British monarchy any day. ;)
 
ACO said:
From what I gathered it was confirmed by the palace it is over hacked voicemails. It seems this is the old case and Harry is seeking legal action now.



You are right that criticizing people is not illegal but hacking and publishing private property without consent are and that is where they are hitting them. The Sussexes are taking very real legal actions where they can.

Some members of the media already have threatened to not cover their stuff. If that is what they want.... go for it. Will be interesting to see how long it lasts. No one should not do what is right in fear that the people who wronged you will retaliate. This is now up to the courts.
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I know that phone hacking etc is illegal but my point is that these court cases have clearly been launched due to his anger at Meghan being criticised. I think it's obvious that in the long term this will only cause the criticism to escalate but it's entirely up to Harry to what he wants to do.
 
Why should it matter if the press are quiet? They shouldn't commit illegal acts regardless. It seems kind of strange that is the angle people are going with. Don't hold these publications accountable so they don't talk badly about you. We all know they will anyways so might as well push back.
 
ACO said:
Why should it matter if the press are quiet? They shouldn't commit illegal acts regardless. It seems kind of strange that is the angle people are going with. Don't hold these publications accountable so they don't talk badly about you. We all know they will anyways so might as well push back.
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I didn't say the press should commit illegal acts, when did I say that? I am pointing out that Harry wants to hammer the press for criticising his wife but ultimately he can't stop it even if he wins in court and that afterwards his relationship with them will probably be irreparable BUT I also said that he is entitled to act as he sees fit.
 
Elenath said:
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.
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But drawing the line on what? If Harry's phone was hacked, that absolutely is worth going to court over, as well as the copyright issue. The question a lot of us have been asking, however, remains: what is the Sussexes desired end result? I'm very curious to see how this all plays out, because, as sophie25 points out, while taking these companies to court for their alleged shady practices may be the right thing to do, that doesn't mean those tabloids will let up on portraying the Sussexes in a negative light--which is the part that actually seems to be enraging Harry.
 
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