Various 3rd Wave Claimants v MGN Ltd [2019] EWHC 2122 (Ch) (02 August 2019)

Various 3rd Wave Claimants v MGN Ltd [2019] EWHC 2122 (Ch) (02 August 2019)

The court refused to strike out or grant summary judgment on most articles because the evidence was insufficient at this stage to conclude that the claims had no real prospect of success, particularly in the absence of disclosure and direct evidence as to the source of the information. However, in the case of the article concerning Kieron Dyer's sister, the court granted summary judgment to the defendant to the limited extent that the article itself did not give rise to a viable privacy claim, as the information was about a third party, was aired in open court, and any damages would be minimal.

Citation
[2019] EWHC 2122 (Ch)
Parties
Claimants/respondents: Various 3rd Wave Claimants; Defendant/applicant: MGN Limited
Jurisdiction
England and Wales
Judgment Date
02 August 2019
Procedural Posture
Strikeout and Summary Judgment Application in Managed Group Litigation / Interlocutory Application Before Trial
Outcome
Defendant's applications largely refused; summary judgment granted in part on one article only.
Legal Topics
Misuse of Private Information, Summary Judgment, Strikeout, Article 8 ECHR, Prior Publication, Open Justice, Damages for Privacy Infringement
Privacy Law Media Law Civil Procedure Misuse of Private Information Summary Judgment Strikeout Article 8 ECHR Prior Publication +2 more

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Parties

Various 3rd Wave Claimants

Claimants/respondents

MGN Limited

Defendant/applicant

Procedural Posture

Strikeout and Summary Judgment Application in Managed Group Litigation / Interlocutory Application Before Trial

Legal Issues

  1. 1 Whether pleaded articles should be struck out or disposed of by summary judgment for lack of real prospect of success in privacy claims
  2. 2 Whether prior publication or open court reporting destroys a privacy claim
  3. 3 Whether claimants have a reasonable expectation of privacy in the information published

Ratio Decidendi

The court refused to strike out or grant summary judgment on most articles because the evidence was insufficient at this stage to conclude that the claims had no real prospect of success, particularly in the absence of disclosure and direct evidence as to the source of the information. However, in the case of the article concerning Kieron Dyer's sister, the court granted summary judgment to the defendant to the limited extent that the article itself did not give rise to a viable privacy claim, as the information was about a third party, was aired in open court, and any damages would be minimal.

Court Disposition

Defendant's applications largely refused; summary judgment granted in part on one article only.

Orders

  • Strikeout and summary judgment refused for most articles; claims may proceed to trial.
  • Summary judgment granted for defendant on the claim relating to Kieron Dyer Article 30, limited to the article itself.