After days of drama at the High Court in London, anyone following the Wagatha Christie trial with Rebekah Vardy and Coleen Rooney is now on the edge of their seats waiting to see what happens next.
The trial came to an end yesterday and we now wait to hear the verdict of the expensive libel case, thought to be costing somewhere between £2 – 3million.
Who will win is anyone’s guess.
Both of the WAGS have been passionate in their testimonies in the stand, with emotional Rebekah breaking down on numerous occasions as she explained the psychological damage the case and long running saga had on her.
As we await the ruling from Mrs Justice Steyn, The Mirror spoke to media law expert and consultant David Banks about the possible outcomes for the two embattled WAGs.
To recap, Rebekah’s case is that she has suffered “very serious harm to her reputation” as a result of Coleen’s now famous 2019 Instagram post, which alleged Rebekah’s Instagram account was responsible for leaking information about her to the press. Rebekah denies she was responsible.
She is seeking “substantial damages” or compensation, while Coleen is defending her claim on the basis it was true and in the public interest for her to publish it.
Who pays who and how much will it set them back?
If Rebekah is ruled to have libelled by judges – and she wins the case- Coleen could be ordered to pay the mum-of-five a maximum of £70,000 and at the lower end, £15,000, in damages.
However, David Banks explains, if Rebekah loses, she could have to pay some of Coleen’s legal costs, and vice versa.
But the legal costs have been capped at around 70 per cent, meaning the winner would still have to pay a chunk of their fees.
“Whoever wins is not getting to get all of their legal costs back”, David explained.
What about the hefty legal costs?
Even if Rebekah wins and has her damages paid, thanks to the cap on the legal fees, she will still be out of pocket.
It has been reported that the combined legal bill for the court battle could reach £3million, meaning that even if Rebekah wins she could still be short of a lot of money.
“Either way both women are going to be out out pocket,” David said.
“Or the court can say you both pay your own legal costs,” David continues.
He explained that the court wants “litigants to sort things out before getting to trial”, and so even if it’s ruled that libel has occurred, both could have to pay their own fees.
Could Coleen be ordered to apologise?
“If Coleen loses she could be ordered to make an apology” to Rebekah, David explained.
“That’s one of the options, the court could order the phrasing of some sort of apology. Usually this is negotiated in the settlement out of court,” he added.
Usually, the apology is made in court, when it is a case of individuals rather than, say, publishers.
David said Coleen could be ordered to make the apology on Instagram, but he hasn’t seen that kind of order before.
An order can also be made for Coleen not to repeat the claim, if found to be libellous, he said.
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