Cases

Phillipps v Associated Newspapers Ltd & Another

Facts

The Claimant brought libel proceedings complaining about an article published in the Daily Mail that suggested that she had manipulated a very ill, confused and dying man (George Carman QC) into making or altering his will on his deathbed so as to make her the largest beneficiary of his estate. The Defendants made a Part 36 Payment into Court, which the Claimant accepted. The Defendants refused to join with the Claimant in a joint Statement in Open Court. The Claimant applied to the Court for permission to read a unilateral Statement in Open Court. The Defendants opposed the application on the grounds that the amount of the Part 36 Payment into Court was insufficient to justifiy the Claimant being allowed to make a unilateral statement. On the issue of costs, the Defendants contended that the acceptance of the Part 36 payment into court meant that the Claimant had to bear her costs of the application for a unilateral statement in open court.

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