Sienna Miller and three other alleged victims of a British tabloid phone-hacking scandal could push ahead with suing the News of The World newspaper, a judge said on Friday.
High Court judge Geoffrey Vos said the four cases should not be delayed by an ongoing criminal investigation into the tabloid's conduct.
Police were investigating the paper to establish its role in a series of illegal interceptions into celebrities' mobile phone voicemails.
Michael Silverleaf, the lawyer for News Group, which publishes News of The World, said the company last week offered to settle the case with Miller for £100,000 (Dh599,575). She has 21 days to accept the settlement. Seven other claimants also received apologies from the newspaper.
Silverleaf argued that Miller's case should not be allowed to continue because she is not likely to win more than the settlement amount.
"She cannot realistically recover more than we are offering," he told the judge.
But Miller's lawyer, Hugh Tomlinson, said money was not the primary motivation for many of the claimants.
"Damages are an aspect, but when private information is involved, the kind of relief people are looking for goes beyond simply monetary compensation," he said.
High Court judge Geoffrey Vos said the four cases should not be delayed by an ongoing criminal investigation into the tabloid's conduct.
Police were investigating the paper to establish its role in a series of illegal interceptions into celebrities' mobile phone voicemails.
Michael Silverleaf, the lawyer for News Group, which publishes News of The World, said the company last week offered to settle the case with Miller for £100,000 (Dh599,575). She has 21 days to accept the settlement. Seven other claimants also received apologies from the newspaper.
Silverleaf argued that Miller's case should not be allowed to continue because she is not likely to win more than the settlement amount.
"She cannot realistically recover more than we are offering," he told the judge.
But Miller's lawyer, Hugh Tomlinson, said money was not the primary motivation for many of the claimants.
"Damages are an aspect, but when private information is involved, the kind of relief people are looking for goes beyond simply monetary compensation," he said.
