Brake & Anor v Guy & Ors

Brake & Anor v Guy & Ors

The enquiries@axnoller.co.uk account was confidential and private to the Brakes; the Guy Parties were not entitled to access or use its contents without consent or court order. The iniquity principle did not apply as there was no strong prima facie case of unlawful conduct. The Guy Parties' application for a declaration and to amend their application was dismissed. The Brakes' application for return and preservation of documents was granted, subject to agreed mechanisms for document review and destruction.

Parties
Applicant/respondent: Nihal Mohammed Kamal Brake; Applicant/respondent: Andrew Young Brake; Respondent/applicant: Geoffrey William Guy; Respondent/applicant: The Chedington Court Estate Limited; Respondent/applicant: Axnoller Events Limited
Jurisdiction
England and Wales
Judgment Date
28 November 2019
Procedural Posture
Civil (insolvency/companies/confidentiality) / Interlocutory Application Ruling
Outcome
Guy Parties' application dismissed; Brakes' application substantially granted
Legal Topics
Legal Professional Privilege, Breach of Confidence, Privacy, Iniquity Principle, Disclosure of Documents
Civil Procedure Insolvency Employment Confidentiality Human Rights Legal Professional Privilege Breach of Confidence Privacy +2 more

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Parties

Nihal Mohammed Kamal Brake

Applicant/respondent

Andrew Young Brake

Applicant/respondent

Geoffrey William Guy

Respondent/applicant

The Chedington Court Estate Limited

Respondent/applicant

Axnoller Events Limited

Respondent/applicant

Procedural Posture

Civil (insolvency/companies/confidentiality) / Interlocutory Application Ruling

Legal Issues

  1. 1 Whether the enquiries@axnoller.co.uk email account was confidential and/or private to the Brakes
  2. 2 Whether the Guy Parties were entitled to access and use information from the enquiries account
  3. 3 Whether the iniquity principle negates privilege/confidence/privacy in the documents

Ratio Decidendi

The enquiries@axnoller.co.uk account was confidential and private to the Brakes; the Guy Parties were not entitled to access or use its contents without consent or court order. The iniquity principle did not apply as there was no strong prima facie case of unlawful conduct. The Guy Parties' application for a declaration and to amend their application was dismissed. The Brakes' application for return and preservation of documents was granted, subject to agreed mechanisms for document review and destruction.

Court Disposition

Guy Parties' application dismissed; Brakes' application substantially granted

Orders

  • Guy Parties to return all documents from the enquiries account to the Brakes' solicitors for preservation
  • Agreed mechanism for review and destruction of documents to be implemented