COLEEN Rooney has beaten Rebekah Vardy again after a judge ruled her Wagath Christie costs would not be reduced.
The bomb case returned to court this week amid an ongoing battle over costs.
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Coleen Rooney beat Rebekah Vardy in their latest court battleCredit: Getty
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Rebecca’s lawyers tried to cut Wagatha’s costsCredit: Instagram/beckyvardy
Rebekah, 42, was ordered to pick up 90 per cent of Coleen’s bill – including an initial payment of £800,000 – after she sensationally lost a defamation case.
Coleen’s team put their costs at £1,833,906.89 – more than three times her “agreed costs budget of £540,779.07”, the court heard.
Her lawyer, Jamie Carpenter KC, accused Coleen’s team of “deliberately misleading” the court by underestimating the costs and time spent working on the case.
He claimed this was done so Coleen, 38, could “take advantage of the apparent difference in costs incurred to attack the other side’s costs”.
This, he said, required a reduction in the amount Rebekah had to set aside.
But in today’s ruling, Senior Costs Judge Andrew Gordon-Saker found “on balance and, I must say, justifiably”, that Coleen’s team had done no wrong.
As a result, it would not be “appropriate” to reduce the amount of money Rebekah would have to pay – meaning she could still end up with a £1.6m bill.
The judge also said that while there was a “lack of transparency”, it was not “sufficiently unreasonable or inappropriate” to amount to misconduct.
Mr Carpenter argued that Rebekah should not be forced to pay around £117,500 plus VAT for “expert fees” invoiced after the budget was agreed in August 2021.
He said the costs incurred should be reduced to £367,732.
Coleen Rooney reveals she ‘felt sorry’ for Vardy in ‘painful’ Wagatha trial – and reveals how she got through giving evidence
Mr Carpenter also accused Coleen’s team of adopting a “kitchen sink approach” when calculating the total.
He claimed the bill included the cost of one of Coleen’s team staying at the five-star Nobu Hotel.
It also includes “substantial dinner and beverage costs, as well as mini-bar costs,” the lawyer said.
But Robin Dunne, for Coleen, claims it is “frankly outrageous” to accuse them of dishonesty.
He also said Rebekah had shown “deplorable conduct” in the case and the costs could have been lower had she “conducted this dispute appropriately”.
The lawyer added: “This was a defamation action that Ms Vardy chose to pursue, despite knowing the Instagram post was true.
“Ms Vardy refused to co-operate with Ms Rooney to try to avoid these proceedings and her conduct meant that Ms Rooney had to bear significant additional costs.
“It is not in Ms Vardy’s mouth to now claim that Ms Rooney’s costs, much of which are caused directly by her conduct, are unreasonable.”
Rebekah took the multi-million pound case to court after being accused of leaking stories to the press.
But Coleen – wife of former England ace Wayne – won the epic defamation battle in 2022 – ending the three-year saga.
The argument broke out back in October 2019 when Coleen turned detective and accused Rebekah of sharing stories from her personal Instagram account.
In the infamous post, Coleen said she posted a series of fake stories through her restricted Instagram account to see if it would get picked up in the media, which it did.
She then said that only one person had seen the fake stories and ended dramatically: “It’s . . . Rebecca Vardy’s Account.”
In turn, Rebekah declared war and accused Coleen of ruining her reputation by taking the defamation case to court.
But her reputation and finances were left hanging in tatters after she was condemned by Mrs Justice Steyn in her judgment.
The judge said Rebekah “knew, approved and was actively involved” in the leaking of information to the media by her agent Caroline Watts.
She branded the mother-of-five’s evidence as “blatantly inconsistent” but praised Coleen as an “honest and reliable” witness.
Mrs Justice Steyn also found that Rebekah had deliberately destroyed evidence to cover up her fraud.
This week’s hearing deals with the principles ahead of an individual cost assessment, which will take place at a later date.
It will continue tomorrow.
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Coleen, pictured with Wayne last night, won a high-profile defamation battle Credit: Getty
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Rebekah launched the case after being accused of leaking stories Credit: Getty
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