Meghan Markle Loses First Legal Battle With U.K. Tabloid Over Letter

The Duchess of Sussex, Meghan Markle has lost her first round of legal battle with the publisher of U.K tabloid, The Mail on Sunday. 

The lawsuit, which was filed by Markle last year, centers on the newspaper’s publication of a letter she wrote to her father, Thomas Markle. The Duchess of Sussex is suing publisher Associated Newspapers for misuse of personal data, breach of copyright and invasion of privacy, and also claims the tabloid selectively edited the letter. The publisher has denied all allegations.

On Friday, Associated Newspapers won its attempts to have parts of Markle’s breach of privacy claim struck from the case in a preliminary hearing last week.

The judge, Mr Justice Warby, struck allegations that Associated Newspapers acted “dishonestly” by excluding passages of the letter, as well as claims that the publisher stirred up problems between the father and daughter and that the outlet had an agenda to publish harmful stories about Markle.

The judge added, however, that what was struck from Markle’s claim does not concern other allegations, which include the misuse of private information, copyright infringement and breach of the Data Protection Act. Justice Warby also warned that the portions of Markle’s claim struck today could still return at a later point in the legal proceedings.