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15 July 2010 / Sarah Webb
Issue: 7426 / Categories: Opinion , ADR
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Double trouble?

In the words of Marvin Gaye “It takes two” to love, to tango and, as we saw in the recent Isner and Mahut tennis match, to doggedly battle against each other for 11 hours. That performance on court was described as “epic”.

It takes two to litigate libel claims. Sarah Webb advocates taking an alternative approach

In the words of Marvin Gaye “It takes two” to love, to tango and, as we saw in the recent Isner and Mahut tennis match, to doggedly battle against each other for 11 hours. That performance on court was described as “epic”.

Spurious action

In contrast, the recent settlement of the claim by Matt Fiddes (bodyguard and close friend) of Michael Jackson against Channel 4 was described in the media recently as a “spurious libel action” and “obviously flawed from the outset”. Julian Bellamy, head of Channel 4, said that the case highlighted “the chilling effect exorbitant legal costs in CFAs (conditional fee agreements) —funded libel claims—have on broadcasting and freedom of expression. It is a damning indictment of the current libel system in the UK that the claimant

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