Meghan Markle has lost the first High Court battle stage in her privacy claim against The Mail on Sunday.
The Duchess has complained that the newspaper printed a private letter she sent her father, Thomas Markle.
She’s suing Associated Newspapers over five articles, two in the Mail on Sunday and three on MailOnline.
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Meghan Markle is suing the paper
They were published in February 2019 and reproduced parts of a handwritten letter she sent to her father in 2018.
A preliminary hearing was held remotely last week and lawyers for the publisher asked for three parts of Meghan’s case to be struck out.
Meanwhile, in a ruling on Friday (May 1), Mr Justice Warby struck out parts of Meghan’s claim against the paper.
It included allegations that it acted “dishonestly” by leaving out certain parts of the letter.
The judge also struck out allegations the paper “stirred up” issues between Meghan and her father.
Mr Warby said those allegations should not form part of her case at this stage.
Some of the allegations are struck out as irrelevant.
However, Mr Warby said the parts he’s quashed may be revived at a later stage.
What did he say?
He said: “Some of the allegations are struck out as irrelevant to the purpose for which they are pleaded.
“Some are struck out on the further or alternative ground that they are inadequately detailed.
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“I have also acted so as to confine the case to what is reasonably necessary and proportionate for the purpose of doing justice between these parties.
“I do not consider that the allegations struck out on that basis go to the ‘heart’ of the case, which at its core concerns the publication of five articles disclosing the words of, and information drawn from, the letter written by the claimant to her father in August 2018.
“Some aspects of the case that I have struck out at this stage may be revived if they are put in proper form.”
Meanwhile, lawyers for Schillings, the firm representing Meghan, said the ruling did not change “the core elements of this case”.
A spokesperson said: “The duchess’ rights were violated; the legal boundaries around privacy were crossed.”
However, they added they respect the judge’s decision.
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