Final hearing in Rebekah Vardy and Coleen Rooney’s defamation battle
The final hearing in the defamation dispute between Rebekah Vardy and Coleen Rooney is taking place at the High Court in London.
rs Rooney, 36, accused Ms Vardy, 40, of leaking “fake stories” about her private life to the media in October 2019 after she underwent months of “stabbing surgery”.
Former England star Wayne Rooney’s wife was nicknamed “Wagatha Christie” when she publicly claimed her fellow footballer’s wife shared fake stories she posted on her personal Instagram account with The Sun newspaper.
Coleen Rooney (left) who has accused Rebekah Vardy (right) of selling stories (John Walton/PA)
Ms Vardy, who is married to Leicester City striker Jamie Vardy, denies the allegations and is suing Ms Rooney for defamation.
A preliminary hearing in the court dispute between the two women is due to take place in the Royal Courts of Justice on Wednesday, ahead of a trial next month.
It comes after Ms Rooney lost a bid to add a lawsuit against Ms Vardy’s agent Caroline Watt to the defamation case.
Ms Rooney’s lawyers previously alleged that Ms Vardy disclosed information to The Sun either directly or through Ms Watt “at her direction or with her knowing consent”.
At a hearing in February, Ms Rooney asked permission to bring an “additional lawsuit” against Ms Watt for misuse of private information and wanted her to be heard alongside the defamation case.
Her lawyer, David Sherborne, argued that if Ms Vardy wins her claim on the basis that she was not the person who leaked the information, Ms Rooney would be left without “justification” unless she was able to to bring the claim against Ms. Watt as part of the same case.
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The motion to add to the lawsuit, which was denied by Ms Vardy’s lawyers, was denied by Ms Justice Steyn, who ruled that it was filed too late and could delay the trial.
The High Court Judge’s ruling did not prevent Ms Rooney from bringing a separate complaint against Ms Watt for alleged misuse of private information, if she so wished.
The trial of Ms Vardy’s defamation lawsuit is scheduled to take place in May.
Wednesday’s hearing before Ms Justice Steyn is scheduled to begin at 10.30am.
https://www.independent.ie/entertainment/latest-court-hearing-due-in-rebekah-vardy-and-coleen-rooneys-libel-battle-41548998.html Final hearing in Rebekah Vardy and Coleen Rooney’s defamation battle
