The Mail finally published their official response to their second loss with the Duchess of Sussex’s lawsuit. Meghan won the summary judgment in this case back in February, and the Mail decided to appeal the judgment rather than just take the L. Three appellate judges unanimously ruled that the Mail had no real defense, and their publication of Meghan’s letter to her father was a clear infringement of her copyright and privacy. It took hours for the Mail to even acknowledge the loss, but here we are: they’re “considering” appealing this mess yet again. Dudes are addicted to taking Ls.
The publisher of The Mail On Sunday today revealed it is considering an appeal to the Supreme Court after it lost a Court of Appeal challenge against a ruling in favour of the Duchess of Sussex over publication of a personal letter to her estranged father, Thomas Markle. Meghan, 40, sued Associated Newspapers Limited (ANL), also the publisher of MailOnline, over five articles that reproduced parts of her letter to Thomas Markle, 77, in August 2018.
The duchess won her case earlier this year when a High Court judge ruled in her favour without a full trial. However, ANL brought an appeal and, at a three-day hearing in November, argued the case should go to a trial on Meghan’s claims against the publisher – including breach of privacy and copyright. But, in a ruling today, Sir Geoffrey Vos, Dame Victoria Sharp and Lord Justice Bean dismissed the publisher’s appeal.
A spokesman for Associated Newspapers said: ‘We are considering an appeal to the Supreme Court in the United Kingdom. We are very disappointed by the decision of the Court of Appeal. It is our strong view that judgment should be given only on the basis of evidence tested at trial, and not on a summary basis in a heavily contested case, before even disclosure of documents. No evidence has been tested in cross-examination, as it should be, especially when Mr Knauf’s evidence raises issues as to the Duchess’s credibility.
‘After People magazine published an attack on Mr Markle, based on false briefings from the Duchess’s friends wrongly describing the letter as a loving letter, it was important to show that the letter was no such thing. Both the letter and People magazine also seriously misrepresented the reasons for Mr Markle’s non-attendance at the royal wedding. The articles corrected these matters, and raised other issues of public interest including the reasons for the breakdown in the relationship between the Duchess and her father’.
LOL. Their entire defense is “but Meghan was so mean to her dad!!” Someone call the waaaambulance. The Mail desperately wants this to go to trial so they can “get” Meghan on the stand to harass her in person. They’re harassing her through the courts. It’s insane. Anyway, I’m sure they will file an appeal and this sh-t will get taken to the Supreme Court and then what? Jason Knauf shows up to the high court with email evidence that Meghan once told an staffer to make a call? It’s bonkers.
Photos courtesy of Avalon Red, WENN.
No doubt they’re hoping another side will help them out.
I don’t think they’re concerned with winning at all, really. I think they are dragging this out for content creation, and the “other side” is more than happy to play ball it seems.
Yeah. I read the headline, and in my mind thought “stated differently, Mail is considering whether continuing to mine this for content will generate enough $$$ to offset the legal fees and make this profitable”.
I’m guessing no. Appeals aren’t that sexy, and the only thing that made this one interesting was Knauff’s eleventh hour drama, which didn’t get that much play imho.
Tabloids are ridiculous
Wait…what? Now they’re saying they *had* to publish the letter to expose mean, lying, Meghan’s mean lies about her saintly dad?
That’s absolutely not the tact to take with this.
Which was apparently in the public interest. How can they look themselves in the mirror each day?
The judges (both courts) already called bull on this line of argument, so I don’t see how they succeed going forward.
Exactly. Dear God, the toxic dad just went on the record THIS WEEK about how Meghan should be embarrassed about shaming the poor, old queen.
Why is the Duchess’ relationship with her father of public interest? How can they support that claim? Whether or not she speaks to Tom is not affecting the public.
Exactly their private relationship, or lack of it, is nobody else’s business. Bad dad has given endless one sided accounts via paid interviews in print, a documentary and TV trashing her and Harry but still claims confusion over her lack of contact. We the public are sick of him because he is selling her out for cash and nauseatingly claiming he still loves her. The public don’t want or need to know anymore.
Lol, no. The Mail should just burn their money, if they’re so eager to lose it.
Yeah, but how much money do they make maligning her everyday? A sh*t ton. I hope she gets all of it in the long run!
Me too. Her damages ask was not a specific sum, but was based on profits generated, so it might actually result in a nice payday for her.
Agree, if they keep raking the profits in by prolonging this mess, that’s more of a payout for Meghan. I also wish they’d get slapped with a hefty fine for wasting the court’s time regarding a strictly personal matter between Meghan and that entity posing as her father.
From their statement” The articles corrected these matters, and raised other issues of public interest including the reasons for the breakdown in the relationship between the Duchess and her father” How is the personal relationship between the two of them in the public interest? Even if it were true that her letter was like you sorry POS, I hate you, that still doesn’t mean that we have a right to know this information because she’s a public figure. The BM really seems to believe that any modicum of fame a person has that means that any privacy that they have has instantly been negated.
Except for the entire royal family (except Meghan). The big ol’ vault of royal wills is my exhibit A. They have NO problem with their idea of legitimate royals having privacy.
This is exactly what UK privacy law does. There is a specific law enacted about 20 years ago which protects people in the public eye from intrusive publicity. It means that celebrities can choose to seek publicity without losing their right to privacy in other aspects of their lives. Prince Charles successfully sued the Daily Mail in 2006 for breaching his privacy by publishing extracts from personal letters. The story was about Hong Kong and when it ceased to be part of the British Commonwealth. Prince Charles was involved in the transfer to Chinese rule and some of his correspondence was published as legitimate public interest. The Mail then published extracts from personal letters and he sued them for breach of privacy. The legal arguments in this case are essentially the same as Meghan’s case.
The MoS statement makes no sense and has no relation to the case which was about violations of copyright and privacy. Saying she’s mean daughter and a liar has nothing to do with whether the MoS had permission to publish her letter. People are already saying even if they get to appeal at the Supreme Court, they will lose.
It’s probably why they say they are “considering” it. For the Supreme Court to grant an appeal is pretty rare. You have to have proof that this ruling was wrong. All three judges on this appeal agreed with Meghan. Jason didn’t provide much for the appeal. It’s probably just to save face.
It’s so obvious that this is so personal. What personal interest does the media have in a private citizen who no longer lives in said country? What’s to “win” here? All the Sieg heil does now is sow more sympathy for Meghan among the British.
UK media needs to speak out against this. If not, then they truly are no better than the tabloids.
They really want to say she was disobedient to her white dad.
I recall the People article asking why she hadn’t communicated with her dad since before the wedding? The friend said – she had (by letter) and his response was to write back asking for a photo op, even if she and Harry had to fake it.
Both of these things were true.
Byline Investigates is saying that even if the fail does try to appeal, the judgments have been so strongly in Meghan’s favor that the fail’s request for appeal is very likely to be dismissed rather than proceeding to the Supreme Court. Fingers crossed that’s true and Meghan will be able to finally put this ordeal behind her.
I agree. Courts are going to hear this nonsense only insofar as the have to, and if an appellate court has the option to just dismiss this out then they will take it because it is a total waste of judicial resources.
Exactly, it will be thrown out as a total waste of time. The only other recourse for the Fail will be the European Court of Justice….hang on a minute the Fail urge people to vote for Brexit. Lol!
They’re big mad the American media is reporting on their big loss, and what big racist losers with no right to call themselves journalists/reporters they are.
If this weren’t a company against an individual, more people would see this as abusive behavior. The Mail is using the court system to make money off of dragging one person through the mud. They don’t have a strong case, they aren’t reporting on the case in an even-handed manner, and they keep wasting both the courts’ and the DoS’ time and money just because it suits the paper to do so.
Of course they are, because they’ve been bested by the biracial American Duchess and don’t have access to her. This is the only way to keep flogging her like a piñata for abuse.
Yep- They were told implicitly or explicitly that they could treat her by crap by the Royal Family, and she has a bested them at every turn and is thriving. I have a feeling 2022 is not going to be too kind to the RF. They have to pay the piper, and the BM has worldwide egg on their faces.
Somebody please help me out here, because I am bigly confused. If the Fail were to somehow get these verdicts overturned and eventually win their case, then it would significantly change copyright case law in the UK, wouldn’t it? Meaning, if it’s a celeb, politician or royal, then even private correspondence would be fair game to publish. So correspondence between a certain tampon-aspiring crown prince and his then-mistress would also become fair game, because PUBLIC INTEREST. That seems to be the slippery slope. How the he l l does the RF see that as a win?
If the last 4 years or so have shown anything, it’s that the BRF and the courtiers do not think long term and only think about the situation now.
Sort of ironic for an institution that’s a 1000 years old and prides itself on longevity.
Keen stans don’t seem to realise that these laws are here to protect everyone. Like it really annoys me when they complain about the Sussex’s wanting “privacy’ for taking action against pictures being taken on their private property. Imagine if it was ok for anyone to break on to your property and take pictures of you. Is that what keen stans want? These laws are there for the benefit of everyone and for people to root for the DM to win, means the media will forever have the power to break any laws they want without consequences.
Exactly! The RF should actually think this verdict is good for them in the long run.
The Daily Fail are stalkers and won’t stop harassing Duchess Meghan until they are taken down. I hope she’s the one to take them out.
Lol, they’re still having a go at People for that interview with Meghan’s friends. I’m seeing a lot of bitterness, but nothing that even hints at a misreading of the law involved. Still, I have no doubt they will try everything to drag it out, if only to avoid having to report how much they have profited from Meghan.
And Jason Knauf is not only named as central to their attack on Meghan’s character, but they seem desperate to get him on the stand. Hmmm. I’d be careful what you wish for…
This isn’t about an appeal. This is about milking the story for every last drop before they have to pay up. Now the headlines will be about how “Meghan hates her Dad” and they can bring back Toxic Tom for more interviews about how misunderstood he is.
I am not related to Tom but I am disgusted by him. Could the Fail interview me as a source close to Kaiser?!
What a load of utter sham posturing. The press has overreached itself this time. Its vilification campaign against Meghan is transparent and is being called out on social media in the UK and the US. Circulation and revenue continue to decline, so grievance-driven journalism based on nothing more than salacious lies and smears seems to be the only way they can attract clicks. If this goes to the Supreme Court they will lose again and at that point they’ll have to pick on someone else because that’s all these craven bottom-feeders know how to do. I hope it’s Willileaks and KKKhate.
This is the defense?! The judges ruled what went done with Meghan and Bad Dad is no one’s business. The Fail is mad Meghan will not face perjury charges; and they were counting on this as a slam dunk for the win.. Jason would be subjected to cross examination as well as Bad Dad. Jason will be dragging the Keenbridges into this; for Jason will have to admit under oath who gave him authorization to give the emails . BP and CH must be mad KP has dragged the Firm in this.
ANL is grieving. It couldn’t accept the fact that it lost against Meghan and the fact that its shame and humiliation is global. They can drag it to the Supreme Court but I doubt if ANL would be given a favorable outcome. Anyway, Meghan is not intimidated and she loves a challenge. So ANL can just bring it on…
Our Duchess loves another win!
Bad dad will be bellyaching to Gobshut news again about how he’s been robbed of the chance to tell his side of the story, conveniently forgetting about his previous 110 and counting trashathon interviews. Fail have no doubt promised him a lifetime of KFC for his help plus another documentary on his behind the scenes journey as their star witness at trial. Yes Tom is always ready for his close-up, what happened to that recluse the tabs used to describe him as before he developed complete publicity syndrome?!
All the fail is doing now is having its accountants calculate what it’s going to cost in legal fees of taking her to the Supreme Court vs. The revenue they will earn from all the headlines of dragging this out. The decision to appeal or not will be based on revenue. They don’t care if they lose as long as they make money. The tabloids give zero effs about saving face. The people who do care about saving face are W and K and their henchman Jason Knauf.
Exactly, the tabloids don’t need to save face because some other story will come along that will drive their defeat off of the headlines. And if another story doesn’t come along, then they’ll make one up.
Yes, please put Jason on the stand so that Meghan’s lawyers can cross examine him and get the truth about the leaks, lies, smears and the payments to Tom to stop the wedding, all at the behest of William et al.
“Both the letter and People magazine also seriously misrepresented the reasons for Mr Markle’s non-attendance at the royal wedding” – this has nothing to do with the original lawsuit!
I think it’s very likely that the Fail will really try to continue litigation with this as much as they can. As someone pointed out in another post here, the Fail recently hired Paul Dacre (who’s the editor of Mail on Sunday, who are the ones involved here) to be the editor of the weekly edition of the paper. He’s expected to oversee a consolidation of their weekly and Sunday editions. He’s also rumoured to be incredibly aggressive and abusive as a rule, which is why he was given the job. They ousted Geordie Greig who had replaced Paul Dacre at the weekly paper, but was apparently considered too “soft” by the people running the paper. He also, allegedly, recommended that the MoS not go ahead with the appeal. You can see why he was forced out.
So given that Paul Dacre is the one in charge now, I can definitely see the Fail trying any and every legal avenue available to them. It’s not an issue of winning any of this, it’s simply a matter of principle for the tabloid. They want to be the biggest possible assholes that they can at any given moment. That’s the tone they want to set, that’s what they want to be known for–as being the biggest bullies on the block. So yes, I really think they will continue to appeal this for as long as they possibly can, in every single way that they can. It doesn’t matter what the courts will do. That’s not the point. The point is to keep being assholes so they can continue to get their readership riled up as much as possible.
Paul Dacre of the Mail on Sunday is wailing and bawling right now. Hahaha! Take it to the Supreme Court and lose again supremely. You and your cohorts are a daily fail.
I don’t understand how the Daily Mail can take this to the Supreme Court in the U.S.? Isn’t this a British legal matter? Am I wrong? Or are they dumbasses with deep pockets (William?) willing to drag this on forever? Don’t forget, Fail, the Duchess has deep pockets too.
They’re talking about the British Supreme Court. The Supreme Court is not just a US thing guys.
I looked up the members of the UK supreme court. Graduates of Cambridge, Oxford, Edinburgh, Harvard etc, so very likely they have rubbed shoulders and move in the same circles as Lord Rothermere and his family. The DM may have an edge there.
In their report on the original verdict in this case earlier this year, Byline commented the DM might have expected an advantage because now Justice Warby had previously worked FOR the Mail as counsel in some high profile cases (including the suit brought by Charles). Things didn’t exactly turn out that way, did they…
2 out of 3 judges who presided over the appeal went to Cambridge. One was the daughter of a life peer (Baron). And Warby (the original) judge was a lawyer for the DM. So if all 4 of them said Meghan won, I doubt the Supreme Court judges will change their minds just because they may socialise with Rothermere.
It seems to me the Fail is butt hurt because they didn’t get a trial out of this. They would have wasted the courts time parading witnesses, like Meghan’s sperm donor, just to drag Meghan through the mud and sensationalize a trial so they can sell papers.
The Supreme Court in the UK functions similar to SCOTUS. (I looked it up.) They just can’t bring an appeal to the Supreme Court. The Fail would would have to apply for an appeal. Then the Supreme Court of the UK would decide if it’s a worthwhile case to hear. Only a small percentage of those cases are even heard. Plus, this isn’t some complicated case that needs to be untangled legally to set a precedent.