Rebekah Vardy was put under new pressure when Coleen Rooney, her agent in the long-running “Wagatha Christie” legal dispute with her, had her agent dragged along.
Coleen’s legal staff served Bombshell court papers to Becky. They appear to be asking for details from Caroline Watt and Becky about their private communications.
Judge today directed that a hearing be held for the purpose of determining what communication should be made public and whether Instagram should have some access to its records.
This is Ms. Watt’s first appearance in a legal direction of the Becky vs. Coleen libel suit that has been ongoing for over 18 months.
In the Queen’s Bench Division at the High Court, Mr Justice Nicklin directs Ms. Watt to be a “respondent”.
Coleen’s legal staff appears to have requested that Rebekah Varidy and Caroline Watt provide details regarding their private communications in court documents
The hearing should be held in the new year to address Coleen’s request of’specific disclosure’ from Becky or Ms Watt.
It is anticipated that the hearing will take place sometime in February. This setting the stage for the impending court battle between warring wives of footballers.
After Coleen (the wife of Wayne Rooney’s former England and Manchester United star) claimed that Becky had told a string of stories to her, this case was born.
Coleen, aged 35, claimed the stories came from her private Instagram, where she only allowed 300 friends and relatives to follow.
Because she was concerned that the information about her had been published to the newspaper, she set up an elaborate trap in order to discover who it was.
She posted fake updates about her life on her personal account in an effort to capture the culprit. The number of people that could view it slowly decreased until Becky was left.
Coleen believed she had finally found the culprit after seeing some false stories that Becky, or another person with her Instagram account, had posted.
She tweeted her conclusions, saying that she had saved and screenshotted all of the original stories. This clearly showed only one person saw them. It is ……………. Rebekah Varidy’s account.
Becky (mother-of-five), 39-year-old, is married to Jamie Vardy, a Leicester City striker. He immediately denied that he was responsible.
Eight months later in June last year she began her £1million High Court defamation battle, claiming her reputation had been tarnished by Coleen.
When it finally reaches the courtroom for a hearing, this legal dispute promises to be one celebrity case that is explosive.
Today’s Order by Mr Justice Nicklin follows the submission of a witness statement, and an application notice to disclose information. These were submitted Monday week to High Court by Paul Lunt Coleen’s solicitor.
The court papers do not disclose details of the request by Mr Lunt for information, however it appears to be related to communications between Becky Watt and other parties.
After Coleen claimed in October 2019, that Becky had told a number of stories to her, the case started.
Becky Vardy (mother-of-five), 39-year-old, is currently married to Jamie Vardy, a Leicester City striker. He immediately denied that he was responsible
The court order of today only states that the party are seeking’specific disclosures’ and for the parties to submit a joint request to Instagram (as described in Paul Lunt’s witness statement).
Mr Justice Nicklin directed Coleen’s legal staff to deliver their application notice and any supporting evidence regarding Ms Watt to Becky by Thursday 4.30pm.
After that, the case will go on record for a hearing. This is scheduled to take place between February 7th-18th.
While it’s not clear if Becky, Coleen or Ms Watt will have to attend, the court has instructed all three women (or their legal team) to get in touch with the court by January 5, at 4.30 pm to set a date.
According to today’s order, Becky and Ms Watt must file and serve evidence as a response to Coleen’s request by January 17.
Colleen also must ‘file any evidence in response’ before January 26.
The hearing will also require that all three women cooperate with the preparation of an evidence package.
Additionally, the order stipulates that all lawyers must exchange and file skeleton arguments’ at least 2 days before the hearing.
A new twist has occurred in the ongoing saga. The full trial hearing, which was scheduled to begin on April 26, is now being delayed.
Justice Nicklin stated that the hearing date should be “vacated” and advised parties to contact him by January 5, so the court can reschedule the trial for the next available date.