Meghan Markle's Privacy Trial Is Postponed
Update October 29, 2020:
A high court judge has approved Meghan's legal team's request to postpone the trial. Per ITV's Chris Ship, "a new trial date is being arranged for the Autumn/Fall 2021." He also reports that the summary judgement decision will be "heard at a later date" and Meghan's application to appeal a previous ruling regarding the defense's use of the biography Finding Freedom, was "refused."
Original: The Duchess of Sussex's privacy lawsuit against the publishers of the Mail on Sunday (Associated Newspapers Limited) over the paper's publication of a letter Meghan wrote to her father, continues. Tomorrow, there will be a hearing regarding her legal team's application to postpone the trial. It was previously scheduled to begin at the High Court on January 11, 2021.
Last month, Judge Francesca Kaye ruled that Associated Newspapers Limited could use Finding Freedom, a buzzy new biography of the Sussexes by royal reporters Carolyn Durand and Omid Scobie, in their defense.
Following that decision, A spokesperson for Shillings, the legal firm representing Meghan, issued a statement, which reads in part:
"This latest hearing was unfortunately another step in a case that has already been drawn out by a defendant who uses the legal process to exploit The Duchess’s privacy and the privacy of those around her for profit-motivated clickbait rather than journalism. As a reminder, it is The Mail on Sunday and Associated Newspapers who acted unlawfully and are the ones on trial, not The Duchess of Sussex, although they would like their readers to believe otherwise."
Meghan's lawyers are making an application to adjourn in part due to the extra work involved with the inclusion of Finding Freedom in the defense. They are also appealing the biography's inclusion in a separate application.
In addition to the postponement, Meghan's team has applied for a Summary Judgement as opposed to a trial with a jury. Tomorrow in court, they will argue that they don't believe there is a compelling reason for trial.
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