On 11 February 2026, Mrs Justice Collins Rice handed down judgment in the TPI on meaning in a libel claim brought by Stephen Belafonte against NGN (publishers of The Sun newspaper). Mr Belafonte contended that the article accused him of, in summary, harassing his ex-wife Melanie Brown in the US; and harassing Ms Brown during a visit to England with his daughter, by flying a drone over her home and causing her to be visited by a process server despite her being represented by lawyers, which also intimidated her.
The court was asked to determine the meaning of the words complained of, following admissions by The Sun that they were defamatory of the Claimant and were statements of fact. The court heard submissions from both counsel for the Claimant and from the Defendant’s counsel at a hearing on 27 January 2026.
The Defendant’s pleaded meanings included an allegation of historical domestic violence, which is the subject of a separate legal complaint by the Claimant against Ms Brown in Florida. The Claimant argued that this meaning could not be found in the words complained of and was, in any event, more injurious than the Claimant’s pleaded meaning.
In her judgment, Mrs Justice Collins Rice held, consistently with the Claimant’s case on meaning, that the article meant that:
- The Claimant is guilty of having harassed Ms Brown in the USA; and
- There are grounds to suspect that, during a subsequent visit to the UK, the Claimant:
(a) caused a drone to be flown over Ms Brown’s home; and
(b) caused a process-server to visit her unnecessarily;
and there are accordingly grounds to suspect the Claimant of harassing Ms Brown in the UK in these circumstances.
5RB’s Gervase de Wilde and Lily Walker-Parr acted for the Claimant, Mr Belafonte, instructed by Cohen Davis Solicitors.
The judgment can be found here.