The ongoing libel case between Vardy and Rooney has reached another important milestone. The previous stages of the case have been detailed in our previous blogs, which can be found here and here.
Vardy v Rooney – Court decisions on strike out and summary judgment application
The most recent hearing was to determine whether parts of Rooney’s defence should be struck out. Vardy’s lawyers claimed that parts of the defence were ‘irrelevant or peripheral’. Mrs Justice Steyn allowed the application to strike out in part, thus bringing to an end some of the arguments made in the defence.
One such part of the defence that was struck out was an accusation by Rooney that Vardy showed ‘publicity-seeking behaviour’ when sitting near Rooney at a previous football match. Mrs Justice Steyn, stating that this aspect of the defence was irrelevant and would therefore be a waste of time and costs to allow it to continue, confirmed that:
“The fact that a person seeks media coverage of their own attendance at a football match does not make it more probable that they would disclose private information about another person to the press…”
In addition, the allegation that Vardy was leaking information about the libel case to The Sun newspaper was also struck out. The Judge confirmed that whilst this was an allegation of leaking confidential information, it was of a different nature to what was alleged in the offending post. The Judge stated in respect of this allegation:
“Notably, the defendant has pleaded it in support of the contention that there is a close relationship between the claimant and The Sun, rather than as an instance of the claimant disclosing another person’s private information.”
Mrs Justice Steyn, however, found that the allegation regarding Mrs Vardy writing a gossip column about the lives of footballers wives was definitely relevant to the case and allowed this aspect of the claim to proceed to trial, stating:
“While these paragraphs do not go to the core issues, the allegation that the claimant had, or was the primary source for, a gossip column about professional footballers and their partners in The Sun is logically probative similar fact evidence.”
She also found that:
“The claimant’s engagement on social media with these journalists is relevant in considering the defendant’s case that she had an exceptionally close relationship with them, which I have accepted is one of the building blocks on which the defendant seeks to build her defence of truth…”
Comment
The success of this recent application demonstrates why it is important to ensure that the content of a pleaded case is precise and accurate and cuts to the heart of the matter. Any irrelevant or peripheral issues may result in the opposing party applying to strike those parts out. Usually, if such an application is successful, the Court will order the party losing the application to be responsible for the application costs.
How Nelsons can help
Kevin Modiri is a Partner in our expert Dispute Resolution team.
Should you have any issues relating to defamation that you wish to seek advice on, please do not hesitate to contact Kevin or another member of the team in Derby, Leicester or Nottingham on 0800 024 1976 or via our online enquiry form.