Harry's plea to include Rupert Murdoch-Piers Morgan in lawsuit rejected
London's High Court has dismissed Prince Harry's attempt to include media mogul Rupert Murdoch and broadcaster Piers Morgan in a phone hacking lawsuit. Harry, along with over 40 other plaintiffs, is suing News Group Newspapers (NGN), a US company owned by Murdoch. The lawsuit alleges phone hacking and illegal news gathering by NGN. The plaintiffs had hoped to add new claims against Murdoch and Morgan, who were associated with the now-defunct NGN newspaper News of the World in the mid-1990s.
Court denied extension of lawsuit timeframe
The court ruled that the claims against Murdoch would essentially constitute a new lawsuit and could not be added to the current litigation. Harry was also denied permission to include allegations dating back before 1996 and after 2011. The Prince had hoped to extend his lawsuit's timeframe to include articles about his mother, Princess Diana, published in the mid-1990s and those from 2016 when he began dating Meghan Markle.
Judge allowed amendments to Prince Harry's claims though
Judge Fancourt, overseeing the case, has allowed Harry to make some amendments to his claims. These include adding accusations about bugging and allegations against more individuals. The Prince has accused NGN newspaper The Sun of hiring private investigators to target his now-wife Markle. An NGN representative stated after the judgment that the claimants sought to introduce wide-ranging allegations into their pleadings at a hearing in March 2024.
'Court in its judgment today has thoroughly vindicated NGN's position'
NGN argued that many of the proposed amendments were irrelevant to the fair and just determination of claims. A company representative stated these had nothing to do with seeking compensation for victims of phone hacking or unlawful information gathering. "The Court in its judgment today has thoroughly vindicated NGN's position and did not give permission to introduce large and significant portions of the amendments." The case is set for trial in January 2025.
