The Duke and Duchess of Sussex made waves last year as they announced they were taking legal action against the Mail on Sunday after the tabloid published a private letter that Meghan Markle had written to her father, Thomas Markle.
According to Meghan, the publication misquoted her messages with her father in order to portray her negatively.
The Sussex couple’s lawsuit against Associated Newspapers started last week, with Princess Diana’s former lawyer David Sherborne representing her.
In a ruling published on Friday however, Meghan was reported to have lost the first round of the privacy lawsuit with the judge Mr Justice Warby striking out parts of Meghan’s claims.
Royal reporter Omid Scobie posted about the ruling on Twitter, writing the following:
‘Judge based decision to strike out additional elements on a few grounds:
— Publisher’s motive is not relevant in a privacy claim
— Litigating the issues would be disproportionately complicated
— Elements had been introduced in a way that did not meet some procedural requirements.’
A spokesperson for Schillings, who are acting on behalf of the Duchess of Sussex released the following statement following the ruling.
‘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.’
They continued: ‘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 behaviour is not relevant. 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. 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 accountable for their actions.’
The lawsuit is still ongoing.
This article originally appeared on marie claire UK.
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