When the Duke and Duchess of Sussex first arrived in LA, they stayed in Tyler Perry’s mansion, much to the chagrin of the British media. During those months, various paparazzi agencies tried to get photos of the Sussexes on Perry’s property, and the methods were completely disgusting. Like, there were stories about paparazzi flying drones over the property, and paps cutting into the fence, etc. The Sussexes began to sue everybody. In October, they settled with X17 (a photo agency) for some of the drone photos taken of Archie. Now the Sussexes have settled with Splash UK.
While Meghan Markle’s privacy lawsuit against the publishers of the Mail on Sunday is still ongoing, one of the Sussexes’ other legal battles appears to have come to a close. Today, the royal couple settled a lawsuit with the paparazzi agency Splash U.K. regarding photos taken of Meghan and her son Archie.
“As explained in today’s hearing, The Duke and Duchess of Sussex have successfully settled a legal claim brought at the beginning of this year against the paparazzi agency Splash U.K.,” a spokesperson on behalf of Schillings, legal representation for The Duke and Duchess of Sussex, said in a statement today. “This settlement is a clear signal that unlawful, invasive, and intrusive paparazzi behaviour will not be tolerated, and that the couple takes these matters seriously – just as any family would.”
The spokesperson further explained that “a simultaneous and similar claim against Splash U.S., a sister company to Splash U.K., continues to move forward in the British court system.” According to the Guardian, a statement read to the court also noted that “Splash UK will not take any photographs of the duke and duchess or their son in the future.”
Today’s settlement is separate from Meghan’s privacy lawsuit against Associated Newspapers Limited over the publication of portions of a letter she wrote to her father. That trial was originally scheduled for next month, but has been postponed until fall 2021.
I’m a bit confused as to why the settlement was reached within the British court system? I get that Splash UK is the British arm of Splash, but surely the photos were taken on American soil? And surely, the American laws – even more specifically, California paparazzi/privacy laws – would have been more easily enforceable? Perhaps the photos were not taken in California though. Hm. Anyway, I’m glad that they reached a settlement and got that promise from the photo agency.
I’m also really curious about what’s going to happen with Meghan’s lawsuit against the Mail, long-term. I just wonder if Meghan is honestly going to have to show up for the trial next fall. It seems crazy.
Update: Okay, so this particular settlement was about photos taken/invasion of privacy in Canada. Got it.
Photos courtesy of Avalon Red, Backgrid.
British papers are saying this settlement is about the photos taken in Vancouver island. They are still suing Splash US.
Regarding the Daily Mail case they requested a summary judgement but the judge won’t look at that until January.
Every time I see a photo I am struck by what a beautiful couple they are.
Maybe it’s the photos published of their rental house which they then had to vacate from in the US. I know if it was Canada there weren’t photos taken of them. Boat owners etc in the area refused to take them around on water to get different angles and it was mostly sol for the photogs in Canada.
Photos were taken of Meghan and Harry in Canada, they ended up in the Daily Mail and the Sun.
There were photos taken of her with Archie and their dog walking through a park in Saanich, just north of Victoria on Vancouver Island.
This is the lawsuit about the pictures taken on Vancouver Island – where she was on a walk with Archie in a baby carrier. I think it’s in the UK bc the photo agency is based there.
To me the most interesting aspect of this is that they agreed to not take any other pictures of Meghan and Archie. I wonder if that was in exchange for a large financial
Payout? (Like they couldn’t afford the payout so made this deal instead?$
Probably because Splash UK has gone into administration. There’s likely no money to pay out
The splash U.K. case related to the pics taken of Meghan & Archie walking on I believe a private trail near the Vancouver home. The pictures were then sold to the Fail and the Sun. That’s possibly why it’s going through U.K. courts.
Apparently the pap had cased the home, taking pics of the exit and entry points and over the fence. Crazy. Splash UK admitted unlawfully violating their privacy so case against Splash US should be interesting.
Also interesting is that in her infringement & privacy case, the Fail are apparently applying to get names of the friends to ‘get more evidence’. They didn’t get their January ‘trial of the century’ so probably want to get mileage in naming her friends. If the summary judgment is successful I guess that will fall away. If not then the trial will go ahead, this application re friends will need to be considered. I wouldn’t be surprised if there was more pressure to settle this case especially if risk of more coming out about the RF’s role post the Crown season 4.
@abritguest. Do you mean pressure from the RF to settle the case? I honestly don’t think meghan wants to settle. And in my humble opinion she shouldn’t she deserves her justice. Concerning her friends, i don’t think the judge will grant the mail their wish as i see no added value to the case to have the 5 friends names revealed. But then again im not the judge. A more interesting lawsuit is harry’s. But funny enough you barely hear about that.
They weren’t in Vancouver, they were staying just north of Victoria on Vancouver Island. That’s when the locals got really angry and literally started chasing the paps away and turfing them out of local shops and restaurants.
This case was dealing with the photos of Meghan and Archie when they were on Vancouver Island. The pictures were sold to Sun and the Daily Mail. If the judge agrees to the summary judgement in January then there won’t be a trial in the Fall. Town and country keeps saying her case against the Mail on Sunday is a privacy case but it’s about copyright infringement and data protection not privacy.
I’m not holding my breath for mail vs Meghan. Mail will pull all kinds of foul in the book to win. If they are in the process of losing they might even ask the queen to intervene. Because heirs of brf needs british press and brf wont cut the ties with them so they will choose press over meghan. If queen said one word all these might come to an end. Many of us want andy to face the fbi. But if the noose get tighter on andy they will sacrifice meghan for sure. I dont know what will happen on march but very anxious. I dont what british govt will do for harry visa. Some sussex fans are in fantasy land that if brf and british govt ask the American harry might have harder time to get visa. Biden administration wont intervened and they dont have to have british govt on their back. I feel they will pull some crap for harry visa . Patriarch always will but some folks dont like to hear it.
It certainly sends out a clear statement, even if payment might not be substantial given that the company has gone in administration. I hope she has success with her other suits, as well.
As your update states: this is in regards to photos taken in Canada in January and i believe it was mainly British tabloids who printed them so it might be that they were contracted out by UK publications and that is why it is in the UK court system. You can tell a lot from thess lawsuits as to what they feel is crossing a line and where they want to put boundaries up and it seems to be mainly around Archie’s privacy and privacy at their home and egregious unlawful data collection(as in Harry’s wiretapping case and Meghan’s case over her letter). The press tries to make it seem like they’re suing everyone over small stuff but all of these cases have revealed some insane behavior on the part of these agencies. First the drone case revealed that paps were cutting holes in their fences in LA and now this one reveals that paps were scoping out their residence in Canada and looking over their fences to their property. That’s extreme behavior and they’re right to call it out.
Now that they’re 3-0 against these agencies and they’re signing deals left and right i think it’s becoming clear that they’re not playing around on this stuff and that they have the resources to keep fighting this and it seems like the paps have taken the hint because i dont recall any recent stories about their property being harassed by paps in Montecito.
But it’s funny to me that the royal reporters who like to breathlessly report every “setback” in Meghans case against the MOS never report on all of these wins with the same vigor. Wonder why?
Yeah I wonder why?
I think the paps are cautious in regards to Montecito. From what I’ve read they do not play when it comes to paparazzi.
I love that they’re standing up for themselves and their privacy and setting clear boundaries with the press.
Also, on a purely shallow note, Harry looks so much happier, as well as healthier and trimmer, since he’s been with Megan and they’ve escaped from his toxic family. I hope they continue to flourish!
I went to an A-List celebs Halloween party once (I had a studio job) and got chatting about security – basically, drone-paparazzi is the big new problem. I asked how they dealt with the drones and she said “Essentially by using glorified T-Shirt cannons that shoot nets instead of shirts.” These things can even track motion, and her security had them installed around the perimeter of her estate.
Shoot nets?? To catch the drones? With the net? Is that legal? Don’t they have to return the drones to the owner? Or do they get to keep the drones? This stuff is fascinating but also infuriating.
I am glad to read this. Lawsuit is settled – and Splash told they are agree with it. I hope Meghan luckily wins the lawsuit against MoS also.
Good for them,
Now, i hope Meghan settle with DM by telling them i dont want your money but i want you to stop mentioning or even hinting my name, harry and and archie ever again in your tabloid.
Yep, but it won’t work b/c the DM is not broke like splash uk..lol
These UK media bullies are a horrible lot. Always blaming and talking bad about Meghan. Never about Andrew. Never about the FFK and FFQ. Never about Brexit. Never about Covid deaths and lockdowns. Never about their racist selves. Using Meghan to cover up for all their inequities all the time. Cowards.