Beckhams seek libel damages over claims their marriage is unhappy
Soccer star David Beckham and his wife, former Spice Girl Victoria are taking legal action against a newspaper that claimed their "happy marriage" is a sham.
The pair are seeking libel damages against the News of the World newspaper over an article which carried the headline: "Posh and Becks on the Rocks." The case will be heard before a judge and jury at London's Law Courts in December.
During a pretrial hearing Monday, the couple's lawyer Hugh Tomlinson said the Beckhams would argue that they had been defamed by the newspaper and there was no truth in the story that alleged that the pair were maintaining a false image of a happy marriage to protect their financial interests.
Richard Spearman, for News Group Newspapers - publishers of the News of the World, said the article suggested that because the Beckhams' "substantial fortunes depend upon their public perception, the claimants have been cynically and hypocritically trying, for financial reasons, to convince the public that they continue to enjoy a happy marriage."
Spearman said the defence would argue that that suggestion was true and would also question the state of the celebrity marriage.
"Is it unhappy, rocked by rows and tensions because of David Beckham's infidelity or is it happy? We say unhappy," Spearman said.
Tomlinson, speaking for the Beckhams, said the couple promote themselves as a happily married couple because they are.
The trial starts Dec. 5 and is expected to take two weeks.
It is not the first time that David Beckham, the England and Real Madrid soccer star whose income is the highest in world soccer, has pursued libel action against Britain's tabloid media.
In August, Beckham accepted damages from the People tabloid for an article that falsely accused him of making hate calls to a former nanny.