Overview
- Judges David Cook and Mr Justice Nicklin ruled on how the seven claimants must share any “common” costs and permitted modest adjustments to previously approved budgets.
- Court-imposed caps remain at roughly £4.1 million for the claimants and about £4.5 million for Associated Newspapers.
- The court warned that a £14.1 million group policy and £2.35 million in individual ATE cover create exposure to personal liability if outcomes differ or parties withdraw.
- A preliminary hearing is scheduled for December 18, with a multi-week trial set to begin in mid-January, which ANL will contest as it denies all allegations.
- The claimants, including Elton John, David Furnish, Baroness Doreen Lawrence, Sadie Frost, Liz Hurley and Sir Simon Hughes, allege unlawful information-gathering such as deception to obtain records and covert listening.