Coleen Rooney claims her legal fees during her high-profile legal battle with Rebekah Vardy came up to over £1.8m, the High Court has been told.
Returning to court two years after the original trial, the women’s lawyers have returned to court in a dispute over legal costs.
The case, which gained worldwide attention after it came to court in the summer of 2022, was dubbed “Wagatha Christie” in a nod to the famous British crime novelist and Rooney‘s detective skills.
The wife of ex-England footballer Wayne Rooney accused Vardy of leaking stories from her private Instagram account to The Sun newspaper.
She did so via a social media post in 2019 which went viral, receiving over 370,000 engagements on Twitter, including almost 50,000 retweets.
Vardy then sued Rooney over the post, with the case heard over nine days at the High Court in 2022, ultimately losing the legal action.
The judge overseeing the case, Mrs Justice Steyn, found the post to be “substantially true”, and ordered Vardy to pay 90% of Rooney’s legal costs.
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After winning the case, Rooney said it should never have gone to court “when the money could have been far better spent helping others”.
In the latest development in the case, Vardy’s lawyers say Rooney has claimed a legal bill totalling £1,833,906.89. They say part of those costs are fees for a five-star hotel and swanky restaurant.
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Some of the costs claimed labelled ‘extraordinary’
In written submissions for a hearing on Monday, Jamie Carpenter KC, who is representing Vardy, described a bill for a lawyer staying “at the Nobu Hotel, incurring substantial dinner and drinks charges as well as mini bar charges”.
He said: “The costs dispute has been rendered particularly intractable by the sheer magnitude of the costs claimed by Mrs Rooney, in absolute terms and when compared to her agreed costs budget, the number of errors in the bill and the extraordinary nature of some of the costs claimed.
“The bill, drawn at 100% of the costs claimed… totals £1,833,906.89.”
Mr Carpenter said the bill was “drawn without sufficient care” and had “a ‘kitchen sink’ approach”, and included “over £120,000 of costs to which Mrs Rooney has no entitlement”.
Working on Christmas Day
Earlier this year, Rooney’s lawyers challenged parts of Vardy’s legal bill of around £325,000, of which 20% will have to be paid by Rooney.
They called Vardy’s costs, which included payment for her trial barrister, Hugh Tomlinson KC, to work on Christmas Day “unreasonable and disproportionate”.
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Wayne Osmond, one of the original members of The Osmonds, has died aged 73.
The singer, who rose to fame alongside his siblings including Donny, Jimmy and Marie Osmond, died on New Year’s Day with his wife and five children by his side after suffering a stroke, family members said in posts on social media.
“His legacy of faith, music, love, and laughter have influenced the lives of many people around the world,” a family statement said.
“He would want everyone to know that the gospel of Jesus Christ is true, that families are forever, and that banana splits are the best dessert. We love him and will miss him dearly.”
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Donny Osmond, 67, paid tribute to his “dear brother” and said he was grateful to have seen him in hospital before his death.
“Wayne brought so much light, laughter, and love to everyone who knew him, especially me,” he said. “He was the ultimate optimist and was loved by everyone.”
Born in Ogden, Utah, Wayne Osmond was the fourth of nine siblings. The two oldest Osmond brothers, Virl and Tom, were both born with hearing problems.
The family were members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
Wayne’s musical career started when he was just a boy, when he formed a barbershop quartet with three of his brothers, Alan, Merrill and Jay. They were later joined by younger siblings Donny and Jimmy and became household names in the 1970s, with hits including One Bad Apple, Crazy Horses, and Love Me For A Reason.
Merrill and Jay Osmond were among the family members sharing tributes, with Merrill, 71, also saying he visited Wayne before his death.
“I’ve never known a man that had more humility,” Merrill said. “A man with absolute no guile. An individual that was quick to forgive and had the ability to show unconditional love to everyone he ever met…
“My brother Wayne endured much. He gave it his all. His legacy will go down as someone who was not only a genius in his ability to write music, but was able to capture the hearts of millions of people and bring them closer to God.”
Jay, 69, said he had always “felt most connected to Wayne out of all of my siblings” and that a “true legend” had left the world.
Wayne Osmond is survived by all of his siblings, as well as his wife Kathlyn and their children.
Actor and director Justin Baldoni has sued The New York Times newspaper for libel after it published allegations that he had sexually harassed and tried to smear the reputation of his It Ends With Us co-star Blake Lively.
The lawsuit, which seeks at least $250m (£199m) in damages, was the latest in a legal battle that has engulfed the two stars. Lively has filed a separate federal lawsuit against Baldoni and others alleging harassment.
The Baldoni lawsuit was filed in Los Angeles Superior Court on Tuesday by the director, 40, and by other defendants named in the Lively lawsuit.
It accuses The New York Times of accepting a “self-serving narrative” by the actress, 37, who claimed Baldoni, production company Wayfarer Studios and others attempted to damage her reputation after she and her husband Ryan Reynolds, 48, addressed “repeated sexual harassment and other disturbing behaviour” by the actor and a producer on the set of the film.
According to Lively’s complaint, the plan included a proposal to plant theories on online message boards, engineer a social media campaign and place news stories that are critical of her.
But Baldoni’s libel lawsuit claims The Times article, which was called ‘We Can Bury Anyone’: Inside a Hollywood Smear Machine, “disregard[s] an abundance of evidence” that contradicts Lively’s accusations.
The Times has defended its reporting and said it plans to “vigorously defend” against the lawsuit.
In a statement, it said: “The role of an independent news organisation is to follow the facts where they lead.
“Our story was meticulously and responsibly reported. It was based on a review of thousands of pages of original documents, including the text messages and emails that we quote accurately and at length in the article.”
Baldoni was dropped by his agency, WME, immediately after Lively filed her complaint and The Times published its story. The agency represents both Lively and Reynolds.
Bryan Freedman, a lawyer who represents Baldoni, Wayfarer Studios, and its representatives, previously called the accusations “completely false, outrageous and intentionally salacious with an intent to publicly hurt and rehash a narrative in the media”.
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Why is Blake Lively suing Justin Baldoni?
He said on Wednesday that The Times had “aided and abetted their own devastating PR smear campaign designed to revitalise Lively’s self-induced floundering public image and counter the organic groundswell of criticism amongst the online public”.
Lively is not a defendant in the libel lawsuit against the paper.
In a statement, lawyers representing the actress said: “Nothing in this lawsuit changes anything about the claims advanced in Ms Lively’s California Civil Rights Department Complaint, nor her federal complaint, filed earlier today.”
It Ends With Us, which is an adaptation of Colleen Hoover’s bestselling 2016 novel, was shrouded by speculation over discord between the lead pair at the time of its release in August.
Baldoni took a backseat in promoting the film while Lively took centre stage along with Reynolds, who was on the press circuit for Deadpool & Wolverine at the same time.
Neil Young has announced he will not be performing at this year’s Glastonbury, saying he believes the BBC’s involvement in the popular festival means it is “now under corporate control”.
The 79-year-old musician wrote on his website that both he and his band, The Chrome Hearts, were pulling out because it was a “corporate turn-off”.
Glastonbury, which takes place at Worthy Farm in Somerset in summer, has worked closely with the BBC since 1997.
The BBC is the festival’s exclusive broadcast partner.
Canadian-born Young had yet to be announced as an act at this year’s event.
Posting on Neil Young Archives, the Rock and Roll Hall of Famer wrote: “The Chrome Hearts and I were looking forward to playing Glastonbury, one of my all-time favourite outdoor gigs.
“We were told that BBC was now a partner in Glastonbury and wanted us to do a lot of things in a way we were not interested in.
“It seems Glastonbury is now under corporate control and is not the way I remember it being.”
Young, who headlined the famous Pyramid Stage in 2009, thanked fans for supporting both him and his band the last time they were at the festival.
He added: “We will not be playing Glastonbury on this tour because it is a corporate turn-off, and not for me like it used to be.
“Hope to see you at one of the other venues on the tour.”
Young, who is married to US actress Daryl Hannah, was booked to play Glastonbury in 1997 but pulled out after cutting his left index finger while making a ham sandwich.
Following his headline performance in 2009, viewers were left disappointed when only a portion of his set was broadcast on the BBC.
In a statement at the time, the corporation said it had “spent the last couple of months” negotiating with Young’s management over what it could show on TV, radio and online.
The broadcaster added: “Neil Young’s career has been conducted on his own terms.
“Last night Neil’s management agreed to let TV and radio broadcast five songs as they watched and listened to his performance.
“They believe in the live event and retaining its mystery and that of their artist.
“They have decided to make one song available online over the weekend to give a flavour of his set. That’s Rockin’ In The Free World and that’s their decision.”
Glastonbury is one of the UK’s largest music festivals.