Mr Justice Fancourt has dismissed an application for a trial of preliminary issue made by News Group Newspapers, the publisher of The Sun and the former News of the World, in the mobile telephone interception litigation. The publisher asked the Court for the question of whether the claimants could have known more than six years before issuing their claims to be determined separately and before any full trial. The Judge found that such an approach did not present sufficient advantages at this stage of the litigation and there should be no direction for a preliminary trial.
The 42 claims, including that of the Duke of Sussex, will now proceed to a trial on all issues, which is listed to last for between six and eight weeks, starting in January 2025.
The judgment was reported in the media, including by the BBC and the Guardian.
A 5RB case report is available here.
A copy of the judgment is available here.
5RB’s David Sherborne, Kate Wilson and Ben Hamer, instructed by Hamlins LLP as lead solicitors, act for the Claimants.