PH litigation against Mirror group settled

[Mumsnut]

Lots more damages, and I think they have picked up his costs

I have mixed feelings about it.

Legal proceedings should be the last resort - in the end they cost the tax payer because we pay for the courts to run, and a mutually agreed solution with a bit of compromise is usually the best all round, and should be encouraged.

On the other hand, it means people who can't afford to challenge wealthy corporations can be pressured into accepting small payouts because they can't risk the judge awarding something smaller, and they get left with a huge legal bill.

As with so many things, it is a matter of nuance and something to be said on both sides.

Harry might be a twat, but he’s right.He fought and won, well done.

Thank you wildernesssw - that makes sense.

I think Harry can be a twit at times, but am also in no doubt that the press behaved appallingly. It sounds like he took it as far as he realistically could.

Year his own foundation, £750K to earthshot & the rest to the early years foundation.

The losing party pay. We pay for cases where the crown persecution is bring the case

I understand that it the system is designed for settelment, and there is great merit in that.

However - I also think if I was Milly Dowler's family for example, I might feel that settlement is blood money in some way. I would prefer accountability or indeed culpabitiy.

Someone like PoW can absorb it - he has a huge infrastructure around him, all designed for his comfort and protection. ordinary people/famlies live a completely different consequence.

Spectacularly missing all points about this case and the people involved ....

@yesmen - good name lol ... oh the irony!
Harry is showing his colours - as I said I'm not a fan of tat journalism and phone hacking is awful, but PH et al use the media for their gain, but hide / squinnie when they're shamed by the same pen

Spectacularly missing all points about this case and the people involved ....

Yes. This case was about illegal activities to obtain stories. It is a non sequitur to bring up media reporting of negative or positive stories that were gainfully obtained in the context of this case. It’s a shame that people can look past sticking the boot to Harry to see the wider implications of this.

Absolutely. I don't agree with underhand methods. But he can't expect favourable press now.

Nice attempt to downplay Harry’s victory, which a full contingent of posters seem busily occupied with…

Turns out the settlement with MGN includes them paying the totality of his costs, and I am ready to bet that they run well into the seven figures, dwarfing the amount of the settlement.

But everyone knows Harry wasn’t in it for the money, as he could have taken the coward’s route and quietly settled out of court, allowing MGN to escape judgement by a High Court and therefore established guilt.

A public establishment of GUILT, via a court’s judgement, was what Harry was looking for, and he exactly what he got, enduring a day and a half of cross-X in the witness box by MGN’s alleged ‘Rottweiler’ counsel who failed to land a single killer blow on Harry. Not to mention the months of detailed preparation and stress that it surely took, heightened by the fact that Harry was the first royal to take the stand in court in over a century (or something), in full knowledge that the very press he was fighting was just waiting for him to trip up to crucify him (and in fact, didn’t even wait).

No dishing out of sour grapes will ever tarnish Harry’s victory, I’m afraid (for some on these boards)…

So do you think he should have.kept his mouth shut and the press should carry on using corrupt methods.

@TallerSally
Yes MGM will pay H’s costs as per the settlement. We don’t know the contents of other settlements but they may also have included costs.

It is not a cowards way out to take a settlement. A lot of people have done this, including Milly Dowler’s parents.

If counsel didn’t manage to land a single blow on Harry how did he lose 17 out of 33 claims?

Your post lacks balance. Yes H won 15 out of 33 claims of the other 115 claims it could be assumed a similar ratio so he is clearly due compensation.

I support anyone holding the media to account and H wanted his day in court. Other victims chose an equally valid route to settle.

Hacking stopped years ago. Good King Harold The Dragon Slayer is not responsible for stopping corrupt global media info gathering methods.

He had already proven their liability in court so sorry to burst your little anti Harry rant bubble.

The settlement related to quantum only and with apparently thousands of articles to assess on a one by one basis having proved not only his point but their wrongdoing and liability in court he made a sensible decision for all concerned to agree a figure he was prepared to accept.

What happens if someone can't pay? If someone declared themselves bankrupt, or just didn't have the money or ability to get the money?

@MrsFinkelstein they make you declare bankruptcy. I feel that unless someone with deep pockets helps out some of Harry’s co-claimants they may be forced down this route.

Maybe Good King Harold will share his winnings? It'd be the right thing to do surely.

Maybe Good King Harold will share his winnings? It'd be the right thing to do surely.

Yes, I was thinking the same thing.
'Compassion in Action'.

Anyone know why Michael Turner (Michael Le Vell) didn't settle when he had the chance?

Seems like quite a risk and it hasn't paid off.

Why didn't he just do this in the first place.

Because it wasn't about money. He was successful at winning the 15 claims he brought and so it was more than obvious that he would have had some success with the remaining 114 other claims.

If he had settled, we would not have heard this judgement and the executives named would not now be in the public record. They had admitted and apologised for one instance of illegal information gathering, and could have offered to make a similar apology again without admitting it all. What has happened as a result of this case is that is now all out there for everyone to see - extensive phone hacking (even if historic - it is still a crime and should be addressed) and evidence of editors, executives and a lawyer covering it up. Piers Morgan potentially may in trouble for lying under oath and may face criminal investigation.

This is why Harry didn’t settle before the trial and a full judgement.

@MrsFinkelstein they may have something called 'after the event' insurance that pays for the litigation if they lose.

I’ve said on another thread that seeing all the claimants cases against MGN were proven - but 2 were too late and Mr LeVell didn’t take a settlement deal, it would be great publicity for MGN to publicly cover their costs.

(Seeing as it was MGN who have admitted wrongdoing not Harry)

I do hope they have some type of insurance in place.

If counsel didn’t manage to land a single blow on Harry how did he lose 17 out of 33 claims?

Your post lacks balance. Yes H won 15 out of 33 claims of the other 115 claims it could be assumed a similar ratio so he is clearly due compensation.

Reminder @Propertylover that the way the 33 cases were selected was Harry‘s team selected half (so, exactly 16.5 cases) and MGN the other half. It stands to reason that Harry selected his strongest and MGN his weakest.

It is therefore illogical to infer that a roughly 50% ratio similarly applies to the outstanding cases. One simply does not know. For all we know, ALL the remaining cases could also all have been strong cases likely to go Harry’s way.

And the fact that MGN settled also suggests that a 50% ratio is highly unlikely.

As to your other point about MGN barristers failing to land a killer blow during cross-X and Harry losing half his cases, not sure we’re talking about the same thing here.

A court case is about more than just a witness’ cross-X. Harry carried his with flying colours, particularly given how low expectations of his detractors were.

Listening to some of them, Harry’s an infant nitwit hardly able to string 5 words together into a sentence, let alone someone able to stand his ground through 8hrs of supposed ‘Rottweiler’ cross-X in High Court…