Wagatha Christie—Truth, the public interest, and inferential fact finding (Vardy v Rooney)

Article summary

TMT analysis: The trial of the case between Rebecca Vardy and Coleen Rooney finally reached a conclusion (save as to costs) after a seven-day trial which was reported widely in the media. Mrs Justice Steyn dismissed the claim in a closed reasoned judgment, which read something like a true crime Agatha Christie novel. Steyn J preferred Mrs Rooney’s evidence to that of Mrs Vardy, drawing inferences that Mrs Vardy was largely responsible for leaking information from Mrs Rooney’s private Instagram account to the Sun Newspaper. While the conduit for the information was Mrs Vardy’s agent (Ms Watt), Steyn J rejected ‘a thesis that Ms Watt was acting alone, without Ms Vardy’s knowledge, consent or approval’. Mrs Rooney was successful in her truth defence, in that her imputation that Mrs Vardy was responsible for the leaks of Mrs Rooney’s private Instagram posts was found to be substantially true. Her alternate defence relying on the public interest was unsuccessful as her belief...