Meghan Markle and U.K. Tabloid Blasted Over Cost of Privacy Case

Meghan Markle and a tabloid newspaper she is suing have been blasted by a judge over the "disproportionate" $3.8 million cost of the case, it has been reported.

The Duchess of Sussex is suing the Mail on Sunday for printing a letter she sent her father about her emotional reaction to the breakdown of their relationship.

Judge Francesca Kaye attacked lawyers on both sides over estimates for the bill they will rack up if the case goes to trial.

She said the prediction of $2.3 million from Meghan's side and $1.5 million for the Mail on Sunday's side "are disproportionate" and not "modest" to "the issues in the case," ITV News reported.

Meghan's lawyers said in a court filing: "The overall total costs figures are £1,798,043.57 ($2.3 million) for [Meghan], and £1,230,425 ($1.5 million) for [The Mail on Sunday]."

The criticism came as the Duchess of Sussex's lawyers fought to keep the best selling biography Finding Freedom out of the court action.

The newspaper wants one of its authors, Omid Scobie, to give evidence in court so he can be questioned about whether she co-operated with the book.

Finding Freedom contained detailed descriptions of Meghan and Prince Harry's private life, including how during a private holiday in Africa the duchess "stretched her body into the perfect warrior pose."

Other details include her reaction to the birth of her son Archie and what she and Prince Harry drank on their first date at Soho House, in London.

However, Meghan's lawyers argued in court papers seen by Newsweek that those details are all irrelevant to the case and urged the judge to only consider the way the book discusses the letter to her father.

They argued the authors were not given the letter by Meghan or her friends and quoted only paragraphs that had been printed in the Mail on Sunday.

They described the newspaper's case about the book as "patently overblown and distorted."

Mail on Sunday lawyers also claimed in paperwork that Meghan and Harry met the authors in "late 2018" and contributed to the biography.

However, Meghan's lawyers said in their filing: "[Meghan] and her husband did not collaborate with the authors on the Book, nor were they interviewed for it, nor did they provide photographs to the authors for the Book."

The Mail on Sunday highlighted the fact Meghan showed the letter she sent her father to the press office at Kensington Palace prior to sending it.

The judge is yet to decide whether Finding Freedom can be included in the Mail on Sunday's defense.