Buzzfeed Inc & Anor v Gubarev & Ors [2018] EWHC 1201 (QB) (18 May 2018)

Buzzfeed Inc & Anor v Gubarev & Ors [2018] EWHC 1201 (QB) (18 May 2018)

The Senior Master was entitled to limit the topics for Mr Steele's examination, as the original request was overly broad, contained irrelevant matters, and was oppressive. The requesting US court had not independently considered the relevance of each topic, so the English court was correct to do so. The narrowed topics were proportionate and justified, and the appeal failed on all grounds.

Citation
[2018] EWHC 1201
Parties
Appellant: BuzzFeed Inc and Ben Smith; First Respondents: Aleksej Gubarev, XBT Holdings SA and Webzilla Inc; Second Respondent: Christopher Steele; Intervenor: FCO (Foreign and Commonwealth Office)
Jurisdiction
England and Wales
Judgment Date
18 May 2018
Procedural Posture
Appeal and Application for Permission to Appeal / Judgment on Appeal From Senior Master's Order Regarding Letter of Request for Evidence Under Evidence (proceedings in Other Jurisdictions) Act 1975
Outcome
Appeal dismissed
Legal Topics
Letters of Request, Evidence (proceedings in Other Jurisdictions) Act 1975, Oppression in Evidence Requests, Relevance of Evidence, Defamation Proceedings, Judicial Comity
Civil Procedure International Judicial Assistance Defamation Letters of Request Evidence (proceedings in Other Jurisdictions) Act 1975 Oppression in Evidence Requests Relevance of Evidence Defamation Proceedings +1 more

Case Brief

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Parties

BuzzFeed Inc and Ben Smith

Appellant

Aleksej Gubarev, XBT Holdings SA and Webzilla Inc

First Respondents

Christopher Steele

Second Respondent

FCO (Foreign and Commonwealth Office)

Intervenor

Procedural Posture

Appeal and Application for Permission to Appeal / Judgment on Appeal From Senior Master's Order Regarding Letter of Request for Evidence Under Evidence (proceedings in Other Jurisdictions) Act 1975

Legal Issues

  1. 1 Whether the Senior Master erred in limiting the topics for oral examination of Mr Steele under a Letter of Request from the US court
  2. 2 Whether the original topics for examination were relevant to the US proceedings
  3. 3 Whether the request as originally formulated was oppressive or a fishing expedition

Ratio Decidendi

The Senior Master was entitled to limit the topics for Mr Steele's examination, as the original request was overly broad, contained irrelevant matters, and was oppressive. The requesting US court had not independently considered the relevance of each topic, so the English court was correct to do so. The narrowed topics were proportionate and justified, and the appeal failed on all grounds.

Court Disposition

Appeal dismissed

Orders

  • Appeal dismissed on all grounds
  • Parties to agree the form of order in light of the judgment