Rupert Murdoch’s media empire suffered another legal setback Friday when a London High Court judge ruled that a damages claim by the actor Hugh Grant against TheSun newspaper could go to trial. Grant accuses the tabloid of using private investigators to hack his cellphone, bug his landline, break into his home, and even place a tracking device in his car. News Group Newspapers, the Murdoch-controlled company that owns the tabloid, had tried to argue that Grant’s lawsuit should be thrown out because it was not brought within a six-year time limit, but Grant argued that he had only got hold of invoices from private investigators used by TheSun two years ago. Judge Timothy Fancourt ruled that Grant had had sufficient time to take legal action on alleged phone hacking but said the trial should go ahead in January on his other claims. NGN said it “strongly denies denies the various historical allegations of unlawful information-gathering” made by the actor. Murdoch’s Fox News last month reached a $787 million settlement with Dominion Voting Systems after repeatedly broadcasting false claims about its vote-counting machines after the 2020 presidential election.
