The judge ruled that “the disclosures were manifestly excessive and therefore illegal”, and that there would be “no prospect that a different trial would be reached after a trial.”
“The claimant had a reasonable expectation that the content of the Letter would remain private. Correspondence Articles interfered with this reasonable expectation, ”he wrote at the trial.
Mail on Sunday and Associated Newspapers said earlier that they maintained their decision to publish excerpts from the letter and would vigorously defend the case.
Meghan welcomed the decision in a statement that severely criticized the tabloid. “After two long years of litigation, I am grateful to the courts for holding Associated Newspapers and The Mail on Sunday responsible for their illegal and dehumanizing practices,” she said.
“These tactics (and those of its sister publications MailOnline and Daily Mail) are not new; in fact, they have been going on for a long time without consequences.
“For these media, it is a game. For me and so many others, it is real life, real relationships and very real sadness. The damage they have done and continue to cause is profound,” said Meghan.
Meghan thanked her legal team, family and supporters, adding: “We all lose when disinformation sells more than the truth, when moral exploitation sells more than decency and when companies create their business model to profit from the pain of women. But for today, with that comprehensive victory in privacy and copyright, we all win. “
Another hearing to decide the issues related to the case and outline the next steps will take place on March 2, but the summary judgment means that the privacy aspects of the case have been decided and will not be put on trial.
The case centers on the publication in the newspaper of a handwritten letter from Meghan to her father, sent shortly after she and Prince Harry were married in May 2018.
According to this publication, Meghan complained to her father that he had ignored many of his attempts to make contact, saying that his actions “broke my heart into a million pieces”.
The original Mail on Sunday article also included claims by Thomas Markle that he had contacted “several times” in an attempt to fix things.
Meghan is seeking compensation for misuse of private information, copyright infringement and violation of the Data Protection Act 2018.