Digicel (St. Lucia) Ltd & Ors v Cable & Wireless Plc & Ors

Digicel (St. Lucia) Ltd & Ors v Cable & Wireless Plc & Ors

Privilege in legal advice was not waived by defendants; neither references in witness statements nor pleading of honest belief as to lawfulness constituted deployment of contents of legal advice. English law does not override privilege based on fairness or relevance, and no order for disclosure can be made absent waiver.

Parties
Claimant: Digicel (St. Lucia) Limited; Claimant: Digicel (SVG) Limited; Claimant: Digicel Grenada Limited; Claimant: Digicel (Barbados) Limited; Claimant: Digicel (Trinidad & Tobago) Limited; Claimant: Digicel Cayman Limited; Claimant: Digicel (Turks & Caicos) Limited; Claimant: Digicel Limited; Defendant: Cable & Wireless Plc; Defendant: Cable & Wireless (West Indies) Limited; Defendant: Cable & Wireless Grenada Limited; Defendant: Cable & Wireless (Barbados) Limited; Defendant: Cable & Wireless (Cayman Islands) Limited; Defendant: Telecommunications Services of Trinidad & Tobago Limited
Jurisdiction
England and Wales
Judgment Date
17 June 2009
Procedural Posture
Civil / Interlocutory Application Ruling
Outcome
application dismissed
Legal Topics
Legal Professional Privilege, Waiver of Privilege, Disclosure of Documents, State of Mind, Conspiracy to Injure by Unlawful Means
Civil Procedure Evidence Privilege Legal Professional Privilege Waiver of Privilege Disclosure of Documents State of Mind Conspiracy to Injure by Unlawful Means

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 8 Party arguments 2
Sign in to unlock

Parties

Digicel (St. Lucia) Limited

Claimant

Digicel (SVG) Limited

Claimant

Digicel Grenada Limited

Claimant

Digicel (Barbados) Limited

Claimant

Digicel (Trinidad & Tobago) Limited

Claimant

Digicel Cayman Limited

Claimant

Digicel (Turks & Caicos) Limited

Claimant

Digicel Limited

Claimant

Cable & Wireless Plc

Defendant

Cable & Wireless (West Indies) Limited

Defendant

Cable & Wireless Grenada Limited

Defendant

Cable & Wireless (Barbados) Limited

Defendant

Cable & Wireless (Cayman Islands) Limited

Defendant

Telecommunications Services of Trinidad & Tobago Limited

Defendant

Procedural Posture

Civil / Interlocutory Application Ruling

Legal Issues

  1. 1 Whether defendants waived legal professional privilege in legal advice by pleading honest belief as to lawfulness of conduct
  2. 2 Whether references in witness statements to legal advice constitute waiver of privilege
  3. 3 Whether fairness or relevance can override privilege in English law

Ratio Decidendi

Privilege in legal advice was not waived by defendants; neither references in witness statements nor pleading of honest belief as to lawfulness constituted deployment of contents of legal advice. English law does not override privilege based on fairness or relevance, and no order for disclosure can be made absent waiver.

Court Disposition

application dismissed