ABC and others -v- Frimley Health NHS Foundation Trust and others (anonymity order)

Anonymity Order

CLAIM NO: QB-2019-000281

In the High Court of Justice
Queen’s Bench Division

15 July 2021

Before:

Judge Mr Hugh Southey QC (sitting as a deputy Judge of the High Court)

Between:

ABC
DEF
and
GH (a child proceeding by his mother and litigation friend ABC)

-v-

Frimley Health NHS Foundation Trust
Nuffield Health
and
Andrew Riddle

ORDER

BEFORE Mr Hugh Southey QC sitting as a Deputy Judge of the High Court, Queen’s Bench Division

Sitting at the Royal Courts of Justice on 15 July 2021

UPON hearing Richard Cartwright of Counsel for the Claimants and Neil Block one of Her Majesty’s Counsel for the Defendants

AND UPON the Claimants’ application

AND UPON the Court noting the Defendants’ neutral stance in relation to the application

WHEREAS, pursuant to CPR r. 39.2(4), the Court is satisfied that an order in the terms below is necessary to protect the interests of the Claimants and the elder child of the First and Second Claimants and there is no sufficient countervailing public interest in disclosure

IT IS HEREBY ORDERED PURSUANT to section 11 of the Contempt of Court Act 1981, Section 6 of the Human Rights Act 1998 and CPR Rule 5.4A to 5.4D and CPR Rule 39.2 and s.39 of the Children and Young Persons Act 1933 that:

  1. The identity of the First Claimant, Second Claimant and Third Claimant not be disclosed. Likewise, the identity of the Litigation Friend of the Third Claimant and the elder child of the First and Second Claimants shall not be disclosed
  2. There be substituted for all purposes of this case, in place of references, whether orally or in writing, to the First Claimant, Second Claimant and the Third Claimant, references to “ABC”, “DEF” and “GHI” respectively. Likewise, the Litigation Friend of the Third Claimant shall be referred to as “ABC” and the elder child of the First and Second Claimants shall be referred to as “JKL”
  3. The First Claimant, Second Claimant and Third Claimant be described in all statements of case and other documents to be filed hereafter or served in the proceedings and in any judgment or order in the proceedings and in any report of the proceedings by the press or otherwise as “ABC”, “DEF” and “GHI” respectively. Likewise, the Third Claimant’s Litigation Friend and the elder child of the First and Second Claimants be described in all statements of case and other documents to be filed hereafter or served in the proceedings and in any judgment or order in the proceedings and in any report of the proceedings by the press or otherwise as “ABC” and “JKL” respectively
  4. The address of the First Claimant, Second Claimant and Third Claimant be stated in all statements of case and other documents to be filed or served in the proceedings as the address of the Claimants’ Solicitors. Likewise, the address of the Litigation Friend of the Third Claimant and the elder child of the First and Second Claimants be stated in all statements of case and other documents to be filed or served in the proceedings as the address of the Claimants’ Solicitors
  5. So far as the Claim Form, or any judgment or order, or any other document to which anyone might have access pursuant to CPR Rule 5.4 at any time does not comply with the above, the Claimants’ solicitors have permission to file with the Court copies of such document adjusted so as to comply therein. Such copies are to be treated for all purposes as being in substitution for the relevant original; and the originals are then to be retained by the Court in a sealed envelope marked: “not to be opened without the permission of a Judge, Master or District Judge of the Queen’s Bench Division”
  6. A non-party may not, without the permission of a Master or District Judge, inspect or obtain any copy statement of case or document from the court file unless it has been anonymised in accordance with this direction and there has been redacted any information which might identify the First Claimant, Second Claimant, Third Claimant, Litigation Friend of the Third Claimant or elder child of the First and Second Claimants. Any application for such permission (i.e. to inspect or obtain a non- anonymised version) must be made on notice to the Claimants and in accordance with CPR r. 5.4C (6) and the Court will effect service and the court file is to be retained by the Court and marked “Anonymised”
  7. Reporting restrictions apply as to the disclosing of any information that may lead to the subsequent identification of the First Claimant, Second Claimant, Third Claimant, Litigation Friend of the Third Claimant or elder child of the First and Second Claimants. The publication of the name and address of the First Claimant, Second Claimant, Third Claimant, Litigation Friend of the Third Claimant or elder child of the First and Second Claimants is prohibited
  8. Provided that the parties and/or their advisors and/or the NHSR do not publish any documents containing references to those mentioned in paragraph 2 above by name, the parties are at liberty to retain their files in this case without alteration or substitution and to retain and generate documentation which identifies those people for the purposes of their continuing professional rights and obligations under the main settlement order and paragraph 1 shall not apply in those respects.

AND IT IS FURTHER HEREBY ORDERED that:

  • The Court having directed that the Third Claimant’s monies be paid into a Personal Injury Trust, the provisions of this Order shall not apply:
  1. to communications between the Trustees and the anonymised Third Claimant, his Deputy or Litigation Friend in relation to the payment of money into the Personal Injury Trust for the benefit of the anonymised Third Claimant or the investment or treatment of payment out of such money
  2. to communications between the Trustees and/or the anonymised Third Claimant, his Deputy or Litigation Friend and any financial institution concerned as to the receipt or investment of such money; or
  3. to records kept by the Trustees or the anonymised Third Claimant, his Deputy or Litigation Friend or any such financial institution in relation to such money.
  • Any non-party affected by this Order may apply on notice to all parties to have this Order set aside or varied.
  • A copy of this order shall be published on the Judicial Website of the High Court of Justice specifying that the First Claimant shall be referred to as “ABC”, the Second Claimant as “DEF”, the Third Claimant as “GHI”, the Litigation Friend for the Third Claimant as “ABC” and the elder child of the First and Second Claimants as “JKL”.
  • The costs of this application be costs in the case.