Rebekah Vardy must pay £10.9k of Coleen Rooney's legal bill as part of the Wagatha Christie court verdict.
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Court demands Vardy bear legal expenses of RooneyThe judge found 'no fault' of ColeenOrdered Rebekah to pay 75 per cent of billFollow GOAL on WhatsApp! 🟢📱WHAT HAPPENED?
The seemingly never-ending legal drama between Rebekah and Coleen took another turn on Thursday, as a High Court ruling ordered Vardy to pay a portion of Rooney's legal costs – nearly three years after the original verdict in the now-famous Wagatha Christie case.
The latest ruling, issued by costs judge Mark Wharton, instructed Vardy to pay £10,943.66 toward Rooney's legal bill of £14,591.55 in relation to the latest round of cost disputes. The judgment reaffirmed that Rooney was the "successful party" in this stage of the case, despite Vardy attempting to challenge elements of how Rooney's legal fees were calculated and claimed.
This phase of the legal battle focused on disputes over VAT repayments and privileged legal documents. Despite her objections, Vardy’s application was rejected by the judge, further strengthening Rooney’s legal position.
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The libel case began after Rooney publicly accused Vardy in a viral Instagram post of leaking private information to the media. In a calculated social media sting operation, Rooney posted false stories visible only to Vardy’s account and watched as they later appeared in the press. Her final post concluded dramatically: "It’s ………. Rebekah Vardy’s account." The resulting courtroom showdown became a national sensation.
DID YOU KNOW?
Initially, Rooney’s lawyers filed a claim of £1.83m for legal expenses – over three times the original cost estimate. That figure has since been reduced to £1.65m following a previous ruling. In another decision made on Thursday, Mr Justice Cavanagh rejected Vardy’s appeal against the claim that Rooney had understated her legal expenses before the trial began. Vardy argued that Rooney had intentionally downplayed her costs in an effort to protect herself from bearing higher expenses if she lost. However, the judge concluded that while there was a "misjudgment" in transparency, it did not amount to serious misconduct.
Justice Cavanagh said: "There had been a misjudgment in the form of a failure to be more transparent about the basis upon which the defendant’s figures for incurred costs had been prepared, but that was as far as it went."
Judge Wharton’s ruling also acknowledged significant procedural and evidentiary shortcomings from Rooney’s legal team. While these issues didn’t derail her overall victory, they did lead to scrutiny over how some of her legal costs had been reported and reclaimed.
The main issue stemmed from VAT errors made by her legal and agency representatives. Brabners, the celebrity law firm representing Rooney, was found to have mistakenly sought a VAT rebate on behalf of CWR 2021 Limited – a media company run by Rooney and her husband, Wayne. This company was involved in production work, including her Disney+ docuseries, The Real Wagatha Story. Rooney’s agency, Triple S Group, also wrongly submitted VAT claims after contributing payments to the legal expenses. According to Rooney’s barrister, Robin Dunne, the errors were "unfortunate" and steps are being taken to repay the amounts.
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Although Thursday’s rulings went largely in Rooney’s favour, the case is not yet fully resolved. A further hearing is scheduled to begin on May 6, during which each line of the remaining disputed legal costs will be scrutinised in detail.
As the legal wrangling continues, what began as a social media accusation has spiralled into one of the most drawn-out celebrity court cases in recent memory, with legal bills and reputations still hanging in the balance.