Smith v Backhouse [2023] EWCA Civ 874 (21 July 2023)

Smith v Backhouse [2023] EWCA Civ 874 (21 July 2023)

The judge erred in law by failing to give proper weight to the settlement agreement and by refusing to accept undertakings solely on grounds of breadth and vagueness. Proper weight must be given to the terms of a settlement agreement, and undertakings should be accepted unless they are illegal, immoral, uncertain, or disproportionate. Paragraphs (1)-(3) of the undertaking must be accepted, subject to a proviso allowing citation of scientific works for academic purposes.

Citation
[2023] EWCA Civ 874
Parties
Claimant/appellant: Dr Erica Smith; Defendant/respondent: Dr Christopher Backhouse; Advocate to the Court: Naina Patel
Jurisdiction
England and Wales
Judgment Date
21 July 2023
Procedural Posture
Appeal / Court of Appeal Judgment
Outcome
Appeal allowed
Legal Topics
Protection From Harassment Act 1997, Misuse of Private Information, Data Protection Act 2018, General Data Protection Regulation (gdpr), Consent Orders, Part 36 Offers, Undertakings to Court
Civil Procedure Harassment Data Protection Privacy Protection From Harassment Act 1997 Misuse of Private Information Data Protection Act 2018 General Data Protection Regulation (gdpr) +3 more

Case Brief

Summary, issues, holding and outcome

More case intelligence is available

Unlock the full research layer for this judgment.

Full judgment text Downloadable case file Legal principles 4 Authorities cited 29 Party arguments 2 Amounts and remedies 2
Sign in to unlock

Parties

Dr Erica Smith

Claimant/appellant

Dr Christopher Backhouse

Defendant/respondent

Naina Patel

Advocate to the Court

Procedural Posture

Appeal / Court of Appeal Judgment

Legal Issues

  1. 1 Whether the court can refuse to accept undertakings agreed as part of a Part 36 settlement offer
  2. 2 Whether undertakings are too broad or vague to be accepted by the court
  3. 3 Whether the court should accept undertakings subject to provisos narrowing their terms

Ratio Decidendi

The judge erred in law by failing to give proper weight to the settlement agreement and by refusing to accept undertakings solely on grounds of breadth and vagueness. Proper weight must be given to the terms of a settlement agreement, and undertakings should be accepted unless they are illegal, immoral, uncertain, or disproportionate. Paragraphs (1)-(3) of the undertaking must be accepted, subject to a proviso allowing citation of scientific works for academic purposes.

Court Disposition

Appeal allowed

Orders

  • Paragraphs (1)-(3) of the undertaking must be accepted, subject to a proviso permitting citation of scientific works authored by the appellant in academic publications by the respondent.
  • Schedule to be appended to the order setting out the paragraphs of the Undertaking.