Slade v Abbhi [2020] EWHC 2181 (Comm) (06 August 2020)

Slade v Abbhi [2020] EWHC 2181 (Comm) (06 August 2020)

The court held that the Part 71 examination on 8 July 2020 was a public hearing and that the exception in CPR r 31.22(1)(a) was engaged. However, given the strong Article 8 privacy interests in the Defendant's personal and family financial information, and the limited public interest in open justice in the context of Part 71 examinations, an order under CPR r 31.22(2) was justified restricting the use of the disclosed documents to enforcement proceedings only and prohibiting their disclosure to third parties.

Citation
[2020] EWHC 2181 (Comm)
Parties
Claimant: Richard John Slade; Defendant: Deepak Abbhi
Jurisdiction
England and Wales
Judgment Date
06 August 2020
Procedural Posture
CPR Part 71 Examination / Post Judgment Enforcement Application / Application for Restriction on Use of Disclosed Documents and for Private Hearing
Outcome
Application under grounds (1) and (2) dismissed; application under ground (3) granted in part.
Legal Topics
Use of Disclosed Documents, Open Justice, Confidentiality in Court Proceedings, Human Rights Balancing (articles 6, 8, 10 Echr), CPR R 31.22, CPR Part 71 Examinations
Civil Procedure Enforcement of Judgments Privacy Law Use of Disclosed Documents Open Justice Confidentiality in Court Proceedings Human Rights Balancing (articles 6, 8, 10 Echr) CPR R 31.22 +1 more

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Parties

Richard John Slade

Claimant

Deepak Abbhi

Defendant

Procedural Posture

CPR Part 71 Examination / Post Judgment Enforcement Application / Application for Restriction on Use of Disclosed Documents and for Private Hearing

Legal Issues

  1. 1 Whether documents disclosed in CPR Part 71 examination can be used outside enforcement proceedings
  2. 2 Whether Part 71 examinations are public or private hearings
  3. 3 Whether an order restricting use of disclosed documents should be made under CPR r 31.22(2)

Ratio Decidendi

The court held that the Part 71 examination on 8 July 2020 was a public hearing and that the exception in CPR r 31.22(1)(a) was engaged. However, given the strong Article 8 privacy interests in the Defendant's personal and family financial information, and the limited public interest in open justice in the context of Part 71 examinations, an order under CPR r 31.22(2) was justified restricting the use of the disclosed documents to enforcement proceedings only and prohibiting their disclosure to third parties.

Court Disposition

Application under grounds (1) and (2) dismissed; application under ground (3) granted in part.

Orders

  • The Claimant may only use the Part 71 documents for the purpose of subsequent enforcement proceedings.
  • The Claimant will not otherwise share the existence or content of the Part 71 documents with any other third party.