Harry v. NGN

[Atlasvue]

Starting a thread for Tuesday.
This BBC article covers the basics. This is the last line ….
’Tuesday really is the beginning of the end. And someone is going to lose - and lose big.’

I have a feeling, that Harry won’t win but he just wants to use the public setting to air his grievances. A therapy session would have worked out much cheaper.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c2l00xkgwnyo

The defendants only has to make an offer that is high enough that the claimant can’t refuse. The jeopardy, and so the pressure, comes from the costs exposure if they do refuse. So the offer will made to cover what the claimant is likely to be awarded as damages. This is, and always will be, a different amount to what they have spent on lawyers and barristers.

Given that the courts don’t award lavish damages for privacy breaches, and given the defendant had some good defences here - limitation obviously being one of the key ones, it is highly unlikely that they will have had to offer more than a couple of million to put the real jeopardy on Harry to settle. The idea that they will have offered tens of millions (which is what we will be told, I have no doubt) is utterly fanciful. The newspaper didn’t want to go through the with trial, but no-one sane does welcome that. They will have wanted to exit without spending more millions on legal fees, and avoid t risk of unwelcome findings against them. But they also had a good chance of winning, and both sides will have known that.

What ever Harry received by way of settlement, he still has to pay his whole legal team out of that, who were on the brink of an 8 week trial. That bill (for all their preparation work for that) will itself be in the millions. So he’s not going to be in the money here.

@IcedPurple I know. But I still don’t blame him for settling now – he won’t have had a choice without risking bankruptcy. I’m not applauding his decision nor critiquing hit. I do think it’s better for him to have settled than continue; I don’t think this makes him a worm or that he was holding out for more money all along – I think he doesn’t have a choice. It’s just odd to see everyone go “eugh, what a twat, he settled after all!” when the alternative would be using up even more of the court’s time.

I imagine a massive chunk of the settlement, if not all, will go to charity. They donate huge amounts every year. I’d love to know how much you lot donate every year whilst you’re sat slagging them off.

he not a dick for settling, he's a dick for posturing himself as the last hope. The almighty Dragon slayer

No, the alternative would have been to settle out of court long ago, as the other claimants did. And not go around posing as a 'dragon slayer' when, like everyone else, you have your price.

It's not a question of 'not blaming him' for accepting a settlement now. The clock didn't start ticking today.

You imagine that do you?

He obviously needs the money more than he needs to be proved right.

In proportion with my income. Less since dh retired but extra when I can. If I had more I’d donate more.

May I ask Serenster if the NGN apology goes further than is usual in such settlements?

I do not blame him for settling, but he should have done it years ago. This is another sign that they are running out of money, IMHO.

I’m aware of that. But since he doesn’t have a time machine to go back and settle out of court long ago, that’s irrelevant. The only choices are the ones available now, not the ones available with hindsight: settle, or continue. He chose to settle and it was the right choice imo.

But I think quite a few on the royals board are or will be disappointed that they can’t have an eight-week trial’s worth of sticking the knife in.

Yep, the dragon slayer settles. It wasn't about the money nooo it was a about getting his truth out there

Interesting Jenny Bond on Sky saying how at parties Harry courted some parts of the press whilst not allowing the BBC the same access.

I would classify this as a draw at best. The apology doesn't go far enough for it to be a win.

But thanks Harry for wasting taxpayers money.

I think Harry has gotten exactly what he wanted.

I’m happy for Lord Watson too.

As if

'But I think quite a few on the royals board are or will be disappointed that they can’t have an eight-week trial’s worth of sticking the knife in'

Quite the contrary. I'm pleased that's it and we won't have to hear his gripes for 8 weeks.

Is this it, all his newspaper cases done or is that Mail one lingering. I can't keep up.

I bet it goes into Archewell and its shady finances.

Or a sign that he is beginning to understand the reality of 'money'.

I’m aware of that. But since he doesn’t have a time machine to go back and settle out of court long ago, that’s irrelevant.

It's absolutely not irrelevant.

If you pose as a 'dragon slayer' and say it's all about 'accountability' then of course people are going to see the decisions you make in that context.

Like I say, the clock didn't start ticking today. Nobody is criticising him for accepting the settlement in and of itself. They just haven't forgotten how pompous and grandiose he, and his supporters, have been on this topic for years now.

I do wonder why Harry wasn't in court- I do wonder if re-entry is the reason- Trump never shys away from any chance to make publicity.

I believe this settlement incorporated the hacking of Catherine's phone, which was into the 100s. Catherine was phone hacked many, many more times than Harry. Even allowing for inflation, I don't see how he would get a larger settlement than William's, save that Murdoch wants rid of the nuisance of it all.

That apology isn’t why he went to court- he went to court to prove that those at the top knew what was going on. NGN made no such apology.

It’s been designed to look like he’s won, but he hasn’t. Because the reason why he was suing wasn’t addressed.

This is just a rehash of the private investigator, Princess Diana stuff.

Harry did get accountability in the form of a full and unequivocal apology of illegal wrongdoing. He is exactly where he would have ended up in 10wks' time. Harry called their bluff and saved the Judiciary/tax payer money.

Nope. He went to court to prove those high up in the company knew what was going on.

No such apology was made. This is just a generic sorry for the use of private investigators by journalists.

Not exactly. The Sun have not admitted any illegal activity on their own part, which is what Harry allegedly hoped to prove in court.