Trinity Mirror 'hacking' costs could now reach more than £12m, court told
Publisher Trinity Mirror could be facing costs of more than £12m in an upcoming civil case regarding alleged phone-hacking, a court has been told.
At the Royal Courts of Justice, counsel for the newspaper group questioned the hourly rates being claimed by opposition counsel for representing the litigants. The legal team is acting for well-known names including former England manager Sven Goran Eriksson and actor Christopher Eccleston.
Lawyers for Trinity Mirror told the court that it was their belief that the hourly legal rates being proposed by the alleged victims solicitors were "disproportionate" as the legal costs that the newspaper group would face if it lost the case would dwarf any potential compensation.
Solicitors acting for the Mirror group also suggested that, as the litigants had "no win no fee" arrangements with their legal representatives there was no incentive for them to keep legal costs to a reasonable level, adding that in their view the money being spent on the case was "extraordinary".
The litigants' counsel responded by saying the issues involved in the forthcoming trial would be challenging and complex with a great deal of material yet to be analysed by the legal teams.
The court was also asked to note that the number of claimants was growing every day as a result of more alleged victims of the illegal practice being contacted by the Metropolitan Police under its Operation Pinetree investigation into alleged phone-hacking at the Mirror Group.
As previously reported The Mirror group have put aside £4m to cover costs associated with the phone-hacking allegations after one of their former journalists, Dan Evans, was convicted of the practice at the Old Bailey last month. The presiding judge, Mr Justice Mann adjourned the case at lunchtime and informed the parties he would sit again in September with a specialist "cost judge" before making a judgement.