Royal Embarrassment: Meghan Markle To Fight More After MAJOR Legal Setback
Meghan Markle had to deal with a huge setback on the lawsuit she filed against the "Mail On Sunday." However, her lawyers said they will continue to seek justice for the Duchess of Sussex.
A Moving Argument
Meghan is suing the "Mail on Sunday" alongside its parent company "Associated Newspapers" for publishing confidential documents. The news outlet published a part of the letter she sent her father, Thomas Markle. She claimed that the letters were sent with a personal note and that have always been meant to be confidential.
The civil lawsuit that Meghan's lawyers filed on her behalf accused the newspaper of misuse of private information, copyright infringement, and violation of the U.K.'s data protection law.
Although her lawyers believe that her case has merit, the judge presiding over the case partially ruled in favor of the defendant. On Friday, the judge removed one of the arguments presented by the legal party of Markle.
Markle's camp claimed that the "Associated Newspapers" acted dishonestly in an attempt to create conflict between the Duchess and her father. Though the case is moving forward, this claim is no longer included in the overall decision that the judge will be making on the legal matter.
Meghan's legal team, however, was surprised at the move that the judge made.
"Whilst the Judge recognizes that there is a claim for breach of privacy and copyright, we are surprised to see that his ruling suggests that dishonest behavior is not relevant," Meghan's representative said.
Markle's rep also emphasized that the core of the case they are making lies on the value of integrity and honesty.
"We feel honesty and integrity are at the core of what matters; or as it relates to the Mail on Sunday and Associated Newspapers, their lack thereof," Meghan's rep added.
"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 that was published by The Mail on Sunday. This gross violation of any person's right to privacy is obvious and unlawful, and The Mail on Sunday should be held to account for their actions."
The "Associated Newspapers" explicitly denied the allegations stated in Meghan's lawsuit. They particularly highlighted the claim that the letter was presented to the public to change the meaning from its original intent.
Fight For Privacy
The case opened last week in the United Kingdom's High Court via video conferencing due to the ongoing world health crisis. And while everyone is practicing social distancing to help flatten the curve of the coronavirus cases in the U.K., Meghan Markle continues to legally fight for her right to privacy.
Anthony White, the lawyer representing the "Mail on Sunday,'' told the judge that the lawyers representing Meghan have made "further assertions of improper, deliberate conduct". He added that they accused the publisher of "harassing, humiliating, manipulating, and exploiting" Thomas Markle, which he believed was a far stretch from what really happened.
Both Meghan and Prince Harry are expected to listen in to the part of the hearing last week conducted by her legal team. Her lawyers remain hopeful that the judge would see the true value of respect for privacy.
"Today's ruling makes very clear that the core elements of this case do not change and will continue to move forward. The Duchess' rights were violated; the legal boundaries around privacy were crossed. As part of this process, 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," Meghan's camp said in a statement, via Fox News
