Former king of Spain wins UK high court bid to end claim by ex-lover
- Europe
- DPA
- Published Date: 10:57 | 06 October 2023
- Modified Date: 10:57 | 06 October 2023
Spain's former king Juan Carlos has won a bid to end a High Court claim brought by an ex-lover.
Danish businesswoman Corinna zu Sayn-Wittgenstein-Sayn, who is in her late 50s and has homes in England, had sued Juan Carlos, 85, who abdicated in 2014.
She alleged the former monarch caused her "great mental pain" by spying on and harassing her, claiming more than £126 million in damages, the High Court in London previously heard.
Juan Carlos denied wrongdoing and disputed the claims made against him, arguing the claim was not "viable" and that the English court did not have jurisdiction for the case.
In a judgment on Friday, Mrs Justice Collins Rice agreed and said: "The High Court of England and Wales lacks jurisdiction to try this claim."
"That is because it has not been brought against the defendant in his country of domicile, as is his default entitlement; and the claimant has not satisfied me she has a good arguable case that her claim falls within an exception to that default rule."
She continued: "The claimant has an account she wishes to give of her personal and financial history with the defendant, and about the harm he has caused her peace of mind and personal wellbeing, and her business, social and family life."
"I take no view about that account as such. The only question for me has been whether the claimant can compel the defendant to give his side of the story to the High Court. My conclusion, as things stand, is that she cannot."
During a four-day-hearing in July, Adam Wolanski KC, for the former monarch, asked the judge to "strike out" zu Sayn-Wittgenstein-Sayn's claim.
He said: "The pleaded case of harassment is a diffuse collection of complaints, some trivial, mostly historic."
The barrister said Juan Carlos "emphatically denies ever having harassed the claimant."
Lawyers representing zu Sayn-Wittgenstein-Sayn said the bid to end the case was "misconceived" and should be refused.
"The suggestion made on behalf of the defendant that the claim is somehow abusive in that it is by itself designed to harass a vulnerable elderly statesman is both unfounded and bold," said barrister Jonathan Caplan KC, for zu Sayn-Wittgenstein-Sayn.
A number of other judges have overseen earlier hearings in the litigation.
Judges have been told that Juan Carlos ruled from 1975 until his abdication in 2014 and the succession of his son, King Felipe VI.
They have heard that Ms zu Sayn-Wittgenstein-Sayn is Danish, lived in Monaco between 2008 and 2019, and has homes in London and Shropshire.
Previously another High Court judge - Mr Justice Nicklin - had ruled that claims could be considered at a trial in England.
However, Court of Appeal judges in London later concluded that "the pre-abdication conduct alleged" was "immune from the jurisdiction of the courts of this country" and ended those parts of the claim.
Following Friday's judgment, zu Sayn-Wittgenstein-Sayn said she was "considering all options" and was "deeply disappointed" by the outcome.
Danish businesswoman Corinna zu Sayn-Wittgenstein-Sayn, who is in her late 50s and has homes in England, had sued Juan Carlos, 85, who abdicated in 2014.
She alleged the former monarch caused her "great mental pain" by spying on and harassing her, claiming more than £126 million in damages, the High Court in London previously heard.
Juan Carlos denied wrongdoing and disputed the claims made against him, arguing the claim was not "viable" and that the English court did not have jurisdiction for the case.
In a judgment on Friday, Mrs Justice Collins Rice agreed and said: "The High Court of England and Wales lacks jurisdiction to try this claim."
"That is because it has not been brought against the defendant in his country of domicile, as is his default entitlement; and the claimant has not satisfied me she has a good arguable case that her claim falls within an exception to that default rule."
She continued: "The claimant has an account she wishes to give of her personal and financial history with the defendant, and about the harm he has caused her peace of mind and personal wellbeing, and her business, social and family life."
"I take no view about that account as such. The only question for me has been whether the claimant can compel the defendant to give his side of the story to the High Court. My conclusion, as things stand, is that she cannot."
During a four-day-hearing in July, Adam Wolanski KC, for the former monarch, asked the judge to "strike out" zu Sayn-Wittgenstein-Sayn's claim.
He said: "The pleaded case of harassment is a diffuse collection of complaints, some trivial, mostly historic."
The barrister said Juan Carlos "emphatically denies ever having harassed the claimant."
Lawyers representing zu Sayn-Wittgenstein-Sayn said the bid to end the case was "misconceived" and should be refused.
"The suggestion made on behalf of the defendant that the claim is somehow abusive in that it is by itself designed to harass a vulnerable elderly statesman is both unfounded and bold," said barrister Jonathan Caplan KC, for zu Sayn-Wittgenstein-Sayn.
A number of other judges have overseen earlier hearings in the litigation.
Judges have been told that Juan Carlos ruled from 1975 until his abdication in 2014 and the succession of his son, King Felipe VI.
They have heard that Ms zu Sayn-Wittgenstein-Sayn is Danish, lived in Monaco between 2008 and 2019, and has homes in London and Shropshire.
Previously another High Court judge - Mr Justice Nicklin - had ruled that claims could be considered at a trial in England.
However, Court of Appeal judges in London later concluded that "the pre-abdication conduct alleged" was "immune from the jurisdiction of the courts of this country" and ended those parts of the claim.
Following Friday's judgment, zu Sayn-Wittgenstein-Sayn said she was "considering all options" and was "deeply disappointed" by the outcome.
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