I realize that the American civil litigation system has warped me whenever I read about court cases in Europe. British peeps and Europeans simply don’t have America’s inherently litigious nature, nor do they expect to win millions in damages over some truly heinous sh-t. Take, for example, the class-action lawsuit against the Mirror Group Newspapers for hacking, blagging and other criminal behavior. The Mirror was engaged in criminal behavior for decades, behavior which ruined lives, livelihoods and reputations. Prince Harry is only one of many plaintiffs, although the British media absolutely wants people to believe that the case is solely about Harry. Each plaintiff gets to say what they feel they’re owed by the Mirror’s criminal activities, and I was shocked by the low number Harry is asking for.

The Mirror hacking trial finished yesterday with Prince Harry’s lawyers saying he should be awarded more than half a million pounds. The Duke of Sussex and three others are suing the newspaper’s publisher, alleging phone hacking and other illegal activity. At the end of a seven-week trial, the High Court released a summary of how much the claimants were seeking.

In Harry’s case, he claims he should be awarded £330,000 for 33 newspaper articles that he says were derived from unlawful means. In addition, the duke wants £15,000 a year for each of 16 years he says his phones and voicemails were being intercepted – taking the total to £570,000.

Andrew Green, the publisher’s barrister, said the 38-year-old duke’s claim his phone had been systematically hacked was ‘just hopeless’, adding: ‘The 16-year period started in 1996 when, on his own evidence, he didn’t have a mobile phone – so it’s not a good starting point.’

The KC that argued careful analysis left Harry’s claim ‘in tatters’. Mirror Group Newspapers denies hacking the prince, and argues he is due no more than £500 for one incident in which it admits it accessed his private information.

Harry’s case is being heard alongside similar claims by actor Michael Turner, who is best known for playing Kevin Webster in Coronation Street, actress Nikki Sanderson and comedian Paul Whitehouse’s ex-wife Fiona Wightman. Mr Justice Fancourt said he would deliver his ruling in due course. He cautioned that after such a case he had ‘a lot to do’ and it ‘won’t be for some time’.

[From The Daily Mail]

Can you believe how little money Harry is asking for? If you’re an American, doesn’t it blow your mind? Like, I’m sorry – if the British media colluded to hack my phones for decades and they waged an unhinged campaign to smear me and my spouse, I would demand MILLIONS. Tens of millions. I would not stop until I put the newspaper out of business. But the British system is different, I get that, and I believe there are caps on damages in these kinds of cases. Still, from where I sit, £570,000 sounds like a relative bargain for all of the criminal sh-t the Mirror was up to.

Photos courtesy of Avalon Red, Backgrid.