Beckhams seek damages from tabloid, to appear in court

Beckhams seek damages from tabloid, to appear in court

	Published : Wed, 19 Oct 2005 19:05 By : David Simms Print this Story

LONDON: Celebrity footballer David Beckham and his ex-popstar wife Victoria will appear in a court to deny that they had concocted a false image of a happy married life in order to protect their commercial interests.

The two have filed a damage suit against British tabloid, the News of the World, for an article, titled "Posh & Becks on Rocks" on 12 September, and they are proving to the court that they continue to be man and wife.

The case is coming up for hearing on 5 December and may continue for a week of two. There could be a jury hearing as per practice in a libel case.

Richard Spearman, the newspaper's lawyer, had asked the presiding judge to demand from the Beckhams all the documents, including telephone records, that are crucial to the case. The paper is contending that its report is based on an account by the Beckhams' one-time nanny Abbie Gibson and it is true. The Beckhams have secured a restraint from the court against the nanny, preventing her from speaking any more.

The couple's lawyer Hugh Tomlinson said his clients will argue that they had been defamed by the newspaper by its report that the couple was feigning a happy marriage to protect their financial interests.

Beckham, England and Real Madrid soccer star, who draws the highest income among world soccer players, had earlier sought damages from The People for an article that falsely accused him of making hate calls to his former nanny. The paper later acknowledged that its allegations were false.

The Beckhams are seeking aggravated and exemplary damages from the News of the World for its action, which led them to "the edge of a nervous breakdown" and was threatening Victoria Beckham's health "during pregnancy and damaging their children".

The report in the newspaper centres on the 2002 agreement between the Beckhams and Japanese company Hakuhodo, worth up to 3.2 million pounds. The agreement had provisions, which enabled the company to terminate the agreement in the event of either of the two filing for a divorce.