Rio Tinto Plc v Vale S.A. & Ors [2015] EWHC 1865 (QB) (29 June 2015)

Rio Tinto Plc v Vale S.A. & Ors [2015] EWHC 1865 (QB) (29 June 2015)

The identities of the sources are of marginal relevance to the issues in the US proceedings and are not necessary for the fair resolution of those issues. The serious risks to the sources and the strong public policy in maintaining confidentiality outweigh any justification for disclosure. The orders are to be...

Source-derived case information.

Citation
[2015] EWHC 1865 (QB)
Parties
Claimant: Rio Tinto Plc; Defendant/applicant: Vale S.A.; Respondent: Livingstone and Company Ltd; Respondent: Africa Risk Consulting Ltd; Respondent: Begbies Traynor (Investigations) Ltd
Jurisdiction
England and Wales
Judgment Date
29 June 2015
Procedural Posture
Application to Vary or Set Aside Orders for Evidence Under the Evidence (proceedings in Other Jurisdictions) Act 1975 / Post Order, Application to Vary or Set Aside
Outcome
Application to vary the orders allowed.
Legal Topics
Letters of Request, Hague Convention on Evidence, Confidential Sources, Disclosure of Documents, Limitation Periods, Equitable Tolling
Civil Procedure International Judicial Assistance Confidentiality Letters of Request Hague Convention on Evidence Confidential Sources Disclosure of Documents Limitation Periods +1 more

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Parties

Rio Tinto Plc

Claimant

Vale S.A.

Defendant/applicant

Livingstone and Company Ltd

Respondent

Africa Risk Consulting Ltd

Respondent

Begbies Traynor (Investigations) Ltd

Respondent

Procedural Posture

Application to Vary or Set Aside Orders for Evidence Under the Evidence (proceedings in Other Jurisdictions) Act 1975 / Post Order, Application to Vary or Set Aside

Legal Issues

  1. 1 Whether respondents should be required to disclose the identities of confidential sources used in business intelligence reports produced for Rio Tinto in response to a US Letter of Request.
  2. 2 Whether the public interest in maintaining confidentiality outweighs the interest in disclosure for the purposes of foreign proceedings.

Ratio Decidendi

The identities of the sources are of marginal relevance to the issues in the US proceedings and are not necessary for the fair resolution of those issues. The serious risks to the sources and the strong public policy in maintaining confidentiality outweigh any justification for disclosure. The orders are to be varied to permit redaction of information that would identify sources.

Court Disposition

Application to vary the orders allowed.

Orders

  • Orders varied to make clear that respondents are under no obligation to reveal information that would identify individual sources.
  • Documents to be disclosed may be redacted to remove references that would lead to identification of sources.