Northern Rock Plc v The Financial Times Ltd. & Anor

Northern Rock Plc v The Financial Times Ltd. & Anor

A short-lived injunction is justified to restrain further publication of detailed confidential information from the Briefing Memorandum that has only been published on the FT.com website, as there remains a real possibility of further harm and the public interest in upholding duties of confidence outweighs the arguments for unrestricted publication at this stage. However, an injunction restraining republication of information already widely published in other media would be futile.

Parties
Claimant: Northern Rock PLC; 1st Defendant: The Financial Times Limited; Defendant: Person or Persons Unknown; Interested Party: Telegraph Media Group Ltd
Jurisdiction
England and Wales
Judgment Date
16 November 2007
Procedural Posture
Injunction Application / Interim Application for Injunction Pending Trial
Outcome
Interim injunction granted in part
Legal Topics
Interim Injunctions, Confidential Information, Freedom of Expression, Public Interest Defence, Breach of Confidence
Media Law Contract Law Confidentiality Human Rights Interim Injunctions Confidential Information Freedom of Expression Public Interest Defence +1 more

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Parties

Northern Rock PLC

Claimant

The Financial Times Limited

1st Defendant

Person or Persons Unknown

Defendant

Telegraph Media Group Ltd

Interested Party

Procedural Posture

Injunction Application / Interim Application for Injunction Pending Trial

Legal Issues

  1. 1 Whether an interim injunction should be granted to restrain publication of confidential commercial information
  2. 2 Whether prior publication defeats the claim for confidentiality
  3. 3 Whether the public interest justifies publication of the information

Ratio Decidendi

A short-lived injunction is justified to restrain further publication of detailed confidential information from the Briefing Memorandum that has only been published on the FT.com website, as there remains a real possibility of further harm and the public interest in upholding duties of confidence outweighs the arguments for unrestricted publication at this stage. However, an injunction restraining republication of information already widely published in other media would be futile.

Court Disposition

Interim injunction granted in part

Orders

  • Injunction granted restraining publication of detailed information from the Briefing Memorandum as published on FT.com until the return date.
  • No injunction granted in respect of information already published in the Daily Telegraph and other media.