Prince Harry's tabloid defeat gets a $13M sting as judge orders payment, and that's not all

LONDON, ENGLAND: Prince Harry's legal fight against the publisher of the Daily Mail has taken a costly turn, with the Duke of Sussex, Elton John, and five other claimants ordered to make an initial £9.54 million ($13 million) payment toward the publisher’s legal costs.

The order came after the group lost their privacy lawsuit in July.

The payment must be made to Associated Newspapers Ltd by 4 pm on August 28, but it may be only the first part of a much larger bill.

The publisher’s total legal costs have been put at more than £34 million, while the court has not imposed a final cap on what it can seek.

Judge orders £9.54 million payment

The High Court's latest ruling concerns the legal costs arising from that defeat. The £9.54 million is an interim payment, meaning it is not necessarily the final amount Harry and the other claimants will have to pay.

The court ordered the costs to be assessed on an indemnity basis, a form of costs order that is more favorable to the winning party than the standard basis.

The final amount will be determined through a separate assessment if the sides cannot agree.

Associated Newspapers has said its legal costs reached about £34.5 million. The court declined to impose a cap on the amount the publisher can ultimately seek.

Prince Harry's claims were rejected

Prince Harry, Elton John, David Furnish, Doreen Lawrence, Elizabeth Hurley, Sadie Frost and Simon Hughes had alleged that Associated Newspapers titles used unlawful information-gathering methods, including phone hacking and other forms of intrusion.

Nicklin rejected the claims in July, finding that the evidence did not establish that information used in the relevant articles had been obtained unlawfully.

The judge said the claimants had relied on allegations that were speculative and insufficiently supported.

The judge also criticized the way the case had been pursued, saying its conduct went outside the ordinary and reasonable conduct of civil proceedings. That finding was central to the decision to award costs on an indemnity basis.

Legal battle now faces another stage

The latest order does not end the financial dispute between the two sides. The precise total Prince Harry and the other claimants will ultimately owe Associated Newspapers remains to be determined.

The claimants have until October 2 to seek permission to appeal the July judgment or the costs ruling. No decision on an appeal had been announced at the time of the latest ruling.

Harry has previously won legal action against other British newspaper publishers, but his claims against Associated Newspapers were dismissed.

The latest ruling now leaves him and the other claimants facing an initial £9.54 million bill, with further costs still to be assessed.