Ukoumunne v The University of Birmingham & Ors [2020] EWHC 2927 (IPEC) (04 November 2020)

Ukoumunne v The University of Birmingham & Ors [2020] EWHC 2927 (IPEC) (04 November 2020)

The claimant failed to identify any information in her thesis with the necessary quality of confidence to sustain a breach of confidence claim. The alleged confidential information consisted of general opinions and themes already in the public domain. Even if the University was contractually obliged to investigate her complaint, the underlying allegation of plagiarism could never have succeeded, rendering any breach of contract claim of no practical value. The remaining claims have no real prospect of success and are struck out as an abuse of process.

Citation
[2020] EWHC 2927 (IPEC)
Parties
Claimant: Caroline Ngozi Ukoumunne; First Defendant: The University of Birmingham; Second Defendant: Paul Warmington; Third Defendant: Ian Grosvenor; Fourth Defendant: Kevin Myers; Fifth Defendant: Adam Tickell; Sixth Defendant: Informa UK Limited
Jurisdiction
England and Wales
Judgment Date
04 November 2020
Procedural Posture
Civil Intellectual Property / Application to Strike Out Remaining Claims (post Particularisation)
Outcome
All remaining claims against all defendants struck out.
Legal Topics
Breach of Confidence, Breach of Contract, Plagiarism, Academic Procedures, Limitation Period, Abuse of Process
Intellectual Property Contract Law Education Law Breach of Confidence Breach of Contract Plagiarism Academic Procedures Limitation Period +1 more

Case Brief

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Parties

Caroline Ngozi Ukoumunne

Claimant

The University of Birmingham

First Defendant

Paul Warmington

Second Defendant

Ian Grosvenor

Third Defendant

Kevin Myers

Fourth Defendant

Adam Tickell

Fifth Defendant

Informa UK Limited

Sixth Defendant

Procedural Posture

Civil Intellectual Property / Application to Strike Out Remaining Claims (post Particularisation)

Legal Issues

  1. 1 Whether the claimant's draft thesis contained confidential information capable of protection
  2. 2 Whether the defendants misused confidential information from the claimant's thesis
  3. 3 Whether the University was in breach of contract by failing to investigate the claimant's complaint under a proper procedure

Ratio Decidendi

The claimant failed to identify any information in her thesis with the necessary quality of confidence to sustain a breach of confidence claim. The alleged confidential information consisted of general opinions and themes already in the public domain. Even if the University was contractually obliged to investigate her complaint, the underlying allegation of plagiarism could never have succeeded, rendering any breach of contract claim of no practical value. The remaining claims have no real prospect of success and are struck out as an abuse of process.

Court Disposition

All remaining claims against all defendants struck out.

Orders

  • All claims against all defendants, including Informa, are struck out.
  • The court will hear submissions from the parties regarding costs.