England and Wales Case Law

PMD Business Finance Holdings Limited v Lee Schofield & Anor

The requirements of CPR 31.16 for pre-action disclosure were satisfied as both parties were likely to be parties to subsequent proceedings, the documents sought fell within standard disclosure, and disclosure was desirable to clarify the extent of any claim and potentially resolve the dispute without litigation or limit costs. The order was granted with limitations to ensure proportionality.

Source excerpt

• Pre-action disclosure
• Restrictive covenants
• Breach of contract
• Inducement of breach of contract
• Confidential information

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United Kingdom Research & Innovation v The Information Commissioner & Anor

Upper Tribunal held FOIA, not EIR, applied to one request and upheld the section 36 ruling, but found errors in the section 41 analysis for a second request.

• Freedom of information act 2000
• Environmental information regulations 2004
• Public interest balancing
• Confidential information
• Statutory exemptions
• Freedom-of-information

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Huws Gray Ltd v Gentleman

Huws Gray Ltd v Gentleman [2026] EWHC 973 (Comm) (25 February 2026)

The High Court granted an interim injunction to restrain a former area sales manager from breaching a post-termination non-compete covenant pending trial.

• Restrictive covenants
• Interim injunctions
• Non-compete clauses
• Confidential information
• Restrictive-covenants
• Interim-injunctions

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Stephen John Gullick v The Information Commissioner

The Tribunal allowed a FOIA appeal in part, ordering disclosure of a redacted solicitor’s letter about allotment access while withholding special category and identifying personal data.

• Freedom of information act 2000
• Personal data
• Section 40(2) foia
• Section 41 foia
• Section 42 foia
• Legitimate interest

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GQA Qualifications Limited v Michael Clayton

The High Court held that Michael Clayton breached contract and confidence duties by unauthorised disclosures and editing correspondence, but rejected claims over his suspension of other directors.

• Breach of contract
• Breach of fiduciary duty
• Breach of statutory duty
• Breach of confidence
• Directors' duties
• Whistleblowing

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GQA Qualifications Ltd v Clayton

GQA Qualifications Ltd v Clayton [2026] EWHC 114 (KB) (23 January 2026)

The High Court held that a former CEO/director breached contract and fiduciary duties by disclosing confidential information and purporting to suspend fellow directors.

• Breach of fiduciary duty
• Breach of contract
• Equitable duty of confidence
• Directors' duties
• Confidential information
• Employment disciplinary process

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PMD Business Finance Holdings Ltd v Lee Schofield & Anor

PMD Business Finance Holdings Ltd v Lee Schofield & Anor [2026] EWHC 10 (KB) (05 January 2026)

The High Court granted PMD pre-action disclosure under CPR 31.16, with limits, in a dispute over alleged restrictive covenant breaches and inducement claims.

• Pre-action disclosure
• Restrictive covenants
• Breach of contract
• Inducement of breach
• Confidential information
• Pre-action-disclosure

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Forsters LLP v Uddin

Forsters LLP v Uddin [2025] EWHC 3255 (KB) (11 December 2025)

The High Court granted an interim injunction after Forsters LLP mistakenly disclosed confidential and privileged documents in response to a DSAR.

• Breach of confidence
• Legal professional privilege
• Inadvertent disclosure
• Data subject access request (dsar)
• Interim injunctions
• Confidential information

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Kau Media Group Limited v Thomas Hart

The Claimant failed to establish that MiSmile Media Ltd was in competition with Kau Media Group Limited or that it had a legitimate proprietary interest requiring protection by the PTRs. The non-compete clause was overly broad and unreasonable, and the non-solicitation/non-dealing clause was not engaged or justified. The restrictions were not proportionate or necessary, and lacked evidentiary support for enforcement.

Source excerpt

• Restrictive covenants
• Restraint of trade
• Post-termination restrictions
• Non-compete clauses
• Non-solicitation clauses
• Confidential information

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Lawrence Dunhill v The Information Commissioner & Anor

The Trust was not entitled to refuse to confirm or deny whether it held the PwC review under FOIA s40(5B)(a)(i) or s41(2), as the balance of legitimate interest, necessity, and minimal prejudice to privacy rights required a substantive response. The Commissioner erred in law by upholding the Trust's NCND response, and the public interest balancing test applies to s40(5B)(a)(i).

Source excerpt

• Freedom of information
• Personal data
• Public interest
• Duty to confirm or deny
• Confidential information

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