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22.10.19
Injunction granted in STI blackmail case
Often it can be difficult to predict with any certainty whether a Court will grant interim injunctive relief. Combine, however, an extremely wealthy claimant, the subject matter of his sex life, a freely entered into confidentiality agreement, the absence of a genuine public interest, a blackmail threat and Adam Speker, the barrister who is fast-becoming…
Read more7.12.18
YouTuber who persistently breached injunction jailed for four months
In Al-Ko Kober Ltd and another v Sambhi Mr Justice Nicol sentenced Balvinder Sambhi to four months’ imprisonment for contempt of court for repeated breaches of an injunction. Mr Sambhi had set up his own YouTube channel and used it, amongst other things, to publish a series of videos which made derogatory comments about one of…
Read more4.12.18
‘Tis the season of unfair trials: criminal allegations in the regulatory arena
Recent weeks have seen a number of high profile criminal allegations being revealed, and even judged upon, without any involvement from the criminal justice system. The most obvious of these cases involved Lord Lester of Herne Hill. The eminent Human Rights lawyer, and former Liberal Democrat spokesman on Human Rights, was found culpable of sexual…
Read more8.09.18
Anonymous litigant-in-person ordered to reveal his identity
In media litigation, it is not uncommon for a claimant to be anonymised (this is particularly the case in proceedings for breach of confidence and/or misuse of private information), but what is remarkable about the case of ABC v Google Inc. [2018] EWHC 137 (QB) is that the claimant has managed to conceal his identity from…
Read more29.06.18
An expectation of privacy in a spent conviction? XKF provides some practical guidance
In the case of XKF v BBC [2018] EWHC 1560 (QB), Mrs Justice Elisabeth Laing granted a privacy injunction to a former police officer, anonymised in these proceedings as XKF, to prevent the BBC from broadcasting film footage of him recorded at or near his home on 13 March 2018. Facts In July 2003, XKF…
Read more15.03.18
The resurgence of the privacy injunction?
According to official statistics published by the Ministry of Justice, there were, between July and December 2017, eight new applications for interim privacy injunctions, all of which were granted (available here). This was the highest number of successful new applications in a six-month period since 2012. Is the privacy injunction making a return? This higher…
Read more19.01.18
Harassment by publication: how private and/or defamatory material can be protected
In GYH v Persons Unknown [2017] EWHC 336, the claimant, a transgender woman who works as an escort, was granted an interim injunction to prevent, amongst other things, the publication of information which purported to relate to her private life. The information in question related to the claimant’s sexual life, her physical and mental health…
Read more13.12.17
Celebrity blackmail victim obtains injunction restraining publication of allegation of serious criminality
In LJY v Persons Unknown [2017] EWHC 3230 (QB), Mr Justice Warby granted an interim injunction restraining unknown defendants from publishing serious allegations of criminality against a celebrity, anonymised in the proceedings as ‘LJY’. LJY is said to be well-known to the public due to his work in the entertainment industry. On 5 December 2017,…
Read more2.01.17
Claimants obtain interim injunction preventing disclosure of extramarital affair
In TRK & BVP v ICM [2016] EWHC 2810 Mr Justice Warby granted an interim without notice injunction preventing a spurned lover from disclosing private information obtained from the alleged hacking of his former lover’s computer system. Background As the hearing was ex parte (i.e. made without notice to the Defendant), the judge was reliant solely on evidence advanced…
Read more29.11.16
Is a police investigation a private matter?
A recent decision by Nicol J in ERY v Associated Newspapers Ltd [2016] EWHC 2760 (QB) has found that a suspect in a police investigation has a reasonable expectation of privacy which is likely to trump the press’s right to freedom of expression. Earlier this year, police investigating suspected financial crime raided the premises of…
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Articles are intended as an introduction to the topic and do not constitute legal advice.
