Russells law firm, Chris Gossage and his friend Judith Callegari apologize to Rowling for leaking her pseudonym and the firm will make charity donations to pay for the damage.
- Aug 1, 2013
AceShowbiz - J.K. Rowling has won a legal battle which she launched against Chris Gossage, a partner at Russells law firm, and his friend Judith Callegari for revealing her pseudonym. Gossage, Callegari as well as the law firm have apologized for the revelation.
According to BBC, the firm will also pay for Rowling's legal costs and make donation to a charity which Rowling chose. The firm will donate "substantial" amount of money to The Soldiers' Charity, which helps veterans and their families.
The "Harry Potter" author will also donate royalties from "The Cuckoo's Calling" for the next three years starting from July 14, the date when her pen name was revealed to public. Rowling said in a statement that she made the donation "partly as a thank you to the army people who helped me with research."
J.K. Rowling released "The Cuckoo's Calling" in April under pseudonym Robert Galbraith. Her secret identity, however, was exposed to public after Callegari, who got the info from Gossage, spilled the secret to a Sunday Times columnist via Twitter. Rowling filed a lawsuit against the two, telling the court that she felt "angry and distressed that her confidences had been betrayed."
Rowling's attorney Jenny Afia told Britain's High Court on Wednesday, July 31, "As a reflection of their regret for breach of the claimant's confidence, including frustrating the claimant's ability to continue to write anonymously under the name Robert Galbraith, the defendants are here today to apologize publicly to the claimant."
