Month: May 2014

21.05.14

Judge refuses to rule that damage to reputation cannot be subject of a privacy claim

In Hannon and another v News Group Newspapers and Commissioner of Police of the Metropolis (http://www.bailii.org/ew/cases/EWHC/Ch/2014/1580.html), News Group Newspapers (‘NGN’) sought to strike out two privacy Claims, primarily on the basis that they should have been brought in defamation.  The Claimants had issued proceedings after apparently discovering, during the course of Operation Elveden, that corrupt…

#OpCotton ruling reversed

The Court of Appeal has reversed the decision by His Honour Judge Leonard QC to stay the indictment in Operation Cotton case as an abuse of the court’s process. In a landmark ruling, His Honour Judge Leonard QC stayed the indictment against Mr Crawley, who is represented by Brett Wilson LLP, on 1 May after…

20.05.14

Wasted Costs and the CPS

It is interesting to read two recent decisions on wasted costs applications by the defence against the CPS particularly in the newish world where privately paying defendants are unable to recoup the costs of a successful defence. In Geoffrey Counsell, Bristol Crown Court, 13 March 2014, Mr Justice Simon ruled on an application brought by the defendant’s…

15.05.14

'Landmark' ECJ Google ruling on Data Protection Directive

On 13 May 2014, the European Court of Justice (ECJ) ruled in the case of Google Spain SL, Google Inc. v Agencia Espanola de Proteccion de Datos (AEPD) and Mario Costeja Gonzalez (Case C-131/12).   Mr Gonzalez had brought a claim against Google after search engine results continued to display an auction notice that had been…

14.05.14

Val Myers v Sandra Ong and Val Myers v Jennifer Ryce – Defendants apologise for making false complaints against award-winning line dancing instructor

Val Myers has accepted apologies from Sandra Ong and Jennifer Ryce in relation to false and defamatory complaints they made to the Best Western Dance Academy (BWDA) which led to his suspension from the organisation. Mr Myers, a client of Brett Wilson LLP, has run the highly successful line dancing club AB Coasters in Harrow since February…

9.05.14

The Sun on Sunday pays Russell Brand substantial libel damges over cheat claims

The Sun on Sunday has agreed to pay comedian Russell Brand substantial damages over a story it ran in November 2013 in which it alleged that Mr Brand had cheated on his girlfriend Jemima Khan. Mr Brand issued libel proceedings after the newspaper initially refused to publish an apology, withdraw the allegations or remove the story from its website….

4.05.14

Landmark Judgment in Brett Wilson LLP case: fraud prosecution stayed

The ‘Operation Cotton’ prosecution brought by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has been stayed by His Honour Judge Leonard QC at Southwark Crown Court as an abuse of process.  The defendants were unable to secure representation by advocates for the trial which was fixed to commence on 28 April 2014.  Brett Wilson LLP acts for the main defendant….