Dawson - Damer & Ors v Taylor Wessing LLP [2017] EWCA Civ 74 (16 February 2017)

Dawson - Damer & Ors v Taylor Wessing LLP [2017] EWCA Civ 74 (16 February 2017)

The Legal Professional Privilege Exception in the DPA is limited to privilege as recognised by English law and does not extend to non-disclosure rights under foreign trust law; Taylor Wessing LLP failed to show that compliance with the subject access request would involve disproportionate effort; the applicants'...

Source-derived case information.

Citation
[2017] EWCA Civ 74
Parties
Appellant: Ashley Dawson-Damer; Appellant: Piers Dawson-Damer; Appellant: Adelicia Dawson-Damer; Respondent: Taylor Wessing LLP; Intervener: The Information Commissioner
Jurisdiction
England and Wales
Judgment Date
16 February 2017
Procedural Posture
Appeal / Court of Appeal Judgment on Appeal From High Court (chancery Division)
Outcome
Appeal allowed
Legal Topics
Subject Access Requests, Legal Professional Privilege, Trustee Disclosure Obligations, Disproportionate Effort Exception, Section 7(9) Discretion, Collateral Purpose in Data Requests
Data Protection Trusts and Equity Civil Procedure Subject Access Requests Legal Professional Privilege Trustee Disclosure Obligations Disproportionate Effort Exception Section 7(9) Discretion +1 more

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Parties

Ashley Dawson-Damer

Appellant

Piers Dawson-Damer

Appellant

Adelicia Dawson-Damer

Appellant

Taylor Wessing LLP

Respondent

The Information Commissioner

Intervener

Procedural Posture

Appeal / Court of Appeal Judgment on Appeal From High Court (chancery Division)

Legal Issues

  1. 1 Whether the Legal Professional Privilege Exception under the Data Protection Act 1998 is limited to English law privilege or extends to foreign trust law non-disclosure rights
  2. 2 Whether compliance with the subject access request would involve disproportionate effort under section 8(2) DPA
  3. 3 Whether the court's discretion under section 7(9) DPA can be refused because the applicant intends to use the data for collateral litigation purposes

Ratio Decidendi

The Legal Professional Privilege Exception in the DPA is limited to privilege as recognised by English law and does not extend to non-disclosure rights under foreign trust law; Taylor Wessing LLP failed to show that compliance with the subject access request would involve disproportionate effort; the applicants' intention to use the data in foreign litigation does not bar relief under section 7(9) DPA.

Court Disposition

Appeal allowed

Orders

  • Declaration that Taylor Wessing LLP failed to comply with the subject access request
  • Matter remitted to the High Court for determination of remaining issues including whether data is held in a relevant filing system and whether particular documents are privileged under English law