The judge expressed strong disapproval of Rebekah Vardy regarding the drawn-out conclusion to the well-known “Wagatha Christie” libel case against Colleen Rooney.
Judge Mark Warran described Vardy’s negotiation tactics for the final settlement as “a definition of a bad litigation.”
He noted that the two sides were only a few percentage points apart in their final settlement discussions, ongoing since last November.
Additionally, Vardy faced criticism from her own barrister, who described Rooney’s assessment fee as “a bit excessive” and “unreasonably high.”
This legal battle began in 2022 when Vardy sued Rooney and lost in the High Court.
During Tuesday’s hearing, Vardy’s lawyer, Juliet Wells, stated that Vardy agreed to cover £119,000 of Rooney’s legal expenses, which originally amounted to £1,833,906.89, but Wells labeled it as “substandard.”
Wells also mentioned that an additional claim of £315,000 was “severely unbalanced.” Rooney, on her part, argued that she was taking a comprehensive approach to costs, suggesting that this should be raised to £100,000.
However, the court ultimately determined that it was “reasonable and proportionate” for Vardy to pay £212,266.20 of Rooney’s evaluation expenses, including VAT, before interest.
The judge remarked that the result was a “commercially satisfying conclusion for both parties,” yet he felt uneasy about the “extraordinary expenses” both had incurred.
He expressed his hope that this would mark the end of a lengthy and unfortunate dispute.
For Rooney, her barrister, Robin Dunn, remarked that “Mrs. Vardy has been somewhat critical of Mrs. Rooney.”
Dunn argued in his written submission that the £315,000 figure was “higher than if Mrs. Vardy had reasonably approached these cost procedures.”
He further noted, “If Mrs. Vardy desires lower alleged amounts, she ought to reconsider her actions and approach.”
In a viral social media post from October 2019, Rooney accused Vardy of conducting a months-long “sting operation” and leaking information to the press.
Rooney stated:
“That’s… a Rebekah Vardy account.”
After the widely publicized trial, Judge Stein ruled in favor of Rooney, concluding that Vardy’s agent, Caroline Watt, supplied information to The Sun, and it was “likely” that Vardy was “actively complicit” in this behavior.
Both Vardy and Rooney, the spouse of former England striker Wayne Rooney, attended a remote hearing, with Faran suggesting that the two could “move past this issue.”
