Dawson - Damer & Ors v Taylor Wessing LLP

Dawson - Damer & Ors v Taylor Wessing LLP

The legal professional privilege exception under the Data Protection Act 1998 applies only to privilege recognised under English law, not to broader trustee rights under Bahamian law; TW has not demonstrated that compliance with the subject access request would involve disproportionate effort; the court's discretion under section 7(9) DPA should not be withheld solely because the applicants intend to use the information in foreign proceedings.

Parties
Appellant: Ashley Dawson-Damer; Appellant: Piers Dawson-Damer; Appellant: Adelicia Dawson-Damer; Respondent: Taylor Wessing LLP; Intervener: Information Commissioner
Jurisdiction
England and Wales
Judgment Date
16 February 2017
Procedural Posture
Civil Appeal / Court of Appeal Judgment
Outcome
Appeal allowed; matter remitted to the Chancery Division.
Legal Topics
Subject Access Requests, Legal Professional Privilege, Disproportionate Effort, Court Discretion, Collateral Purpose, Trustee Disclosure
Data Protection Trusts and Equity Civil Procedure Subject Access Requests Legal Professional Privilege Disproportionate Effort Court Discretion Collateral Purpose +1 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 5 Authorities cited 20 Party arguments 2 Amounts and remedies 4
Sign in to unlock

Parties

Ashley Dawson-Damer

Appellant

Piers Dawson-Damer

Appellant

Adelicia Dawson-Damer

Appellant

Taylor Wessing LLP

Respondent

Information Commissioner

Intervener

Procedural Posture

Civil Appeal / Court of Appeal Judgment

Legal Issues

  1. 1 Whether the legal professional privilege exception under the Data Protection Act 1998 applies only to privilege recognised under English law or extends to Bahamian trust law.
  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 applicants intend to use the information in foreign proceedings.

Ratio Decidendi

The legal professional privilege exception under the Data Protection Act 1998 applies only to privilege recognised under English law, not to broader trustee rights under Bahamian law; TW has not demonstrated that compliance with the subject access request would involve disproportionate effort; the court's discretion under section 7(9) DPA should not be withheld solely because the applicants intend to use the information in foreign proceedings.

Court Disposition

Appeal allowed; matter remitted to the Chancery Division.

Orders

  • Order under section 7(9) DPA to be made requiring TW to comply with the subject access request.
  • Further proceedings in the High Court to determine whether TW holds data on a relevant filing system and whether any documents are privileged under English law.