Andrew Prismall v Google UK Limited & Anor

Andrew Prismall v Google UK Limited & Anor

The claim was bound to fail because, on a lowest common denominator basis, not every member of the class had a realistic prospect of establishing a reasonable expectation of privacy or more than trivial loss of control damages. The variables among class members meant that individualised assessment was required, which is incompatible with a representative action. The claim disclosed no reasonable grounds and had no real prospect of success.

Parties
Representative Claimant: Andrew Prismall; Defendant: Google UK Limited; Defendant: DeepMind Technologies Limited; Interested Party: LCM Funding UK Limited
Jurisdiction
England and Wales
Judgment Date
11 September 2024
Procedural Posture
Representative Action (misuse of Private Information) / Strike Out and Summary Judgment Application
Outcome
Claim struck out; summary judgment for Defendants
Legal Topics
Misuse of Private Information, Representative Actions, Loss of Control Damages, Reasonable Expectation of Privacy, Direct Care Exception, Data Protection, Class Actions
Tort Privacy Law Civil Procedure Misuse of Private Information Representative Actions Loss of Control Damages Reasonable Expectation of Privacy Direct Care Exception +2 more

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Parties

Andrew Prismall

Representative Claimant

Google UK Limited

Defendant

DeepMind Technologies Limited

Defendant

LCM Funding UK Limited

Interested Party

Procedural Posture

Representative Action (misuse of Private Information) / Strike Out and Summary Judgment Application

Legal Issues

  1. 1 Whether a representative action for misuse of private information (MOPI) can proceed on behalf of a class of 1.6 million patients whose medical records were transferred to DeepMind by the Royal Free London NHS Foundation Trust;
  2. 2 Whether every member of the class has a realistic prospect of establishing a reasonable expectation of privacy and a viable claim for more than trivial damages on a lowest common denominator basis;
  3. 3 Whether the claim discloses reasonable grounds or has a real prospect of success without individualised assessment;

Ratio Decidendi

The claim was bound to fail because, on a lowest common denominator basis, not every member of the class had a realistic prospect of establishing a reasonable expectation of privacy or more than trivial loss of control damages. The variables among class members meant that individualised assessment was required, which is incompatible with a representative action. The claim disclosed no reasonable grounds and had no real prospect of success.

Court Disposition

Claim struck out; summary judgment for Defendants

Orders

  • The claim form and particulars of claim are struck out.
  • Summary judgment is entered for the Defendants.