High court judge who has criticized Harry in his latest legal battle against one of the newspapers, specifically The Sun. Mr. Justice Fancourt is not happy with Harry at all. In fact, he remarked that Harry’s legal action against the publisher resembles a campaign between two stubborn but well-resourced armies, which is taking up far more court time than appropriate. Harry has made similar allegations against other publishers, including journalists and private investigators working for News Group Newspapers (NGN), which also published the now-defunct News of the World.
A full trial for some of these cases is scheduled for January next year, although NGN denies all allegations. Recently, in a preliminary ruling, Mr. Justice Fancourt addressed disputes between the legal teams for Harry and NGN regarding amendments to his claims. He stated, “I have previously indicated to the parties that this individual claim, while it raises important issues, is consuming an inappropriate amount of the Court’s resources. This is contrary to the requirement to handle cases justly and at a proportionate cost. It now resembles an entrenched front in a campaign between two stubborn but well-resourced armies rather than a straightforward claim for misuse of private information.”
In other words, the judge is clearly fed up and wants the case to move along. He expressed dissatisfaction that the court had to address such a large amount of disputed material in amendments to the statement of the case. His ruling covered 12 pages, where he noted that he had perhaps been overly optimistic in expecting the remaining disputed material to be limited, especially considering his decisions in May on how Harry could argue his case. Instead, he faced a table of disputes spanning 44 pages, with 49 items in contention, most of which remained unresolved.
The judge emphasized the urgency of resolving the pleadings, stating, “I’ve also previously indicated that this claim will not be adjourned and will either be tried in January 2025 or settled.” This case has been ongoing since September 2019 and has already been postponed twice.
But if you think the judge went lightly on Harry, think again—he was quite savage. According to an article from the Daily Mail, the judge’s written judgment included remarks such as, “No particulars are provided about bugging, and a previous specific allegation regarding Chelsea Davy’s car has been withdrawn.” Permission was denied for allegations of planting bugs in rooms and vehicles, as no specifics were provided for these claims.
The judge also scrutinized Harry’s request to include terms like “listening devices” in his case, stating that the Duke had failed to provide any supporting details for these allegations. It’s as if the judge just obliterated a significant portion of Harry’s arguments against The Sun.
So, what does Harry have left in his case? The judge has reduced his arguments to practically nothing. Will he settle out of court like he did with the Mail on Sunday before the January trial? It certainly raises questions.
The judge’s ruling has definitely been a tough blow for Harry and Meghan. It seems they’ve been trying to keep this news under wraps, but it’s undeniably a big loss for Team Sussex.
