Bambos Tsiattalou comments re Hugh Grant privacy case settlement

Partner Bambos Tsiattalou comments in reaction the news that Hugh Grant settled his privacy case with The Sun.

“It is clear from Hugh Grant’s comments that he feels extremely frustrated that civil litigation rules have effectively forced his hand in his action against The Sun newspaper over alleged illegal news-gathering techniques.

Rather than backing down from a courtroom battle which would have certainly attracted enormous publicity because the accusations were untrue, the actor instead insists that his decision was motivated only by the stark reality of probably having to pay the opposing side’s legal costs of up to £10m.

For someone with Grant’s high profile and undoubted personal wealth to admit their inability to take on such daunting fees – even in the event of winning and being awarded damages – is indicative of the disproportionate advantage which an incredibly powerful company like News Group Newspapers has, and demonstrates why so many phone hacking lawsuits have been settled out of court recently.”