Prince Harry, Sir Elton John, and five other high-profile claimants have been ordered to pay an initial £9.54 million by next week to Associated Newspapers Limited (ANL) following the dismissal of their unlawful information-gathering lawsuit. Mr. Justice Nicklin ruled that the group must pay costs on an indemnity basis after criticizing how they presented their claims as “unreasonable to a high degree.”
Judge slams claimants for failing to withdraw serious allegations
While ANL reported spending £34.5 million to defend itself against the claims, the judge declined to place a cap on the publisher’s recoverable costs. As a result, the group which includes Liz Hurley, Sadie Frost, and Baroness Lawrence could face an overall bill of roughly £18 million after accounting for their £16.2 million insurance coverage. The judge noted it was “striking” that the claimants failed to formally withdraw serious allegations of wrongdoing when evidential support lapsed, leaving the group until October 2 to apply for an appeal.
