BB -v- University Hospital North Midlands NHS Trust (anonymity order)
Claim number: K01SQ003
In the County Court at Stoke-on-Trent
17 January 2024
Before:
District Judge Downey
Between:
BB (by Litigation friend AB)
-v-
University Hospital North Midlands NHS Trust
Order
Before District Judge Downey sitting at the County Court at Stoke On Trent, Bethesda Street, Hanley, Stoke-on-trent, ST1 3BP.
UPON hearing counsel for the Claimant and the Defendant not appearing, and there being no appearance by any other party
AND UPON consideration of the Claimant’s Article 8 right to respect for private and family life and the Article 10 right to freedom of expression;
AND UPON the Court being satisfied, pursuant to CPR 39.2(4) that an order in the terms below is necessary in order to protect the interests of the Claimant and there is no sufficient countervailing public interest in disclosure;
AND PURSUANT to section 11 of the Contempt of Court Act 1981 and rules 5.4C and 5.4D of the Civil Procedure Rules;
IT IS ORDERED, pursuant to section 11 of the Contempt of Court Act 1981, section 6 of the Human Rights Act 1998, CPR 5.4B to D and CPR 39.2, as follows:
1. The Claimant and her Litigation Friend shall be referred to in these proceedings as “BB” and “AB” respectively.
2. There shall not be disclosed in any report of the proceedings the name, address or picture of the Claimant, or of the Claimant’s Litigation Friend, or any member of her family, nor any information which is liable to or might lead to the identification of the Claimant, her Litigation Friend, or any member of her family.
3. There shall be substituted for all purposes in these proceedings, in place of references to the Claimant or her Litigation Friend by name, references to “BB” (a Protected Party)” and “AB” respectively.
4. Persons other than the parties to these proceedings shall be prohibited from inspecting or obtaining copies of any statement of case, judgment or order, or any other document from the court records unless the same have been anonymised as set out above, the addresses of the Claimant and her Litigation Friend have been removed, and there has been redacted any information which might identify the Claimant or her Litigation Friend without further order of the Court. Any application for permission to inspect or obtain a non-anonymised version must be made on notice to the Claimant’s solicitors (Dicksons Solicitors) in accordance with CPR 5.4C(6).
5. Prior to any supply of any document from the court records to a non-party, the names of the Claimant, and her Litigation Friend are to be anonymised in any such document by the substitution of initials as set out above, the deletion of their home addresses, and the redaction of any information which might identify the Claimant, or her Litigation Friend.
6. The Court file shall be clearly marked with the words “An anonymity order was made in this case on 15 December 2023 and any application by a non-party to inspect or obtain a copy document from this file must be dealt with in accordance with the terms of that Order”.
7. Pursuant to CPR rule 39.2(5) and the ‘Practice Guidance: Publication of Privacy and Anonymity Orders’ issued by the Master of the Rolls dated 16 April 2019 a copy of this Order shall be published on website of the judiciary of England and Wales (www.judiciary.uk). For that purpose, a court officer will send a copy of the order by email to the Judicial Office at judicialwebupdates@judiciary.uk
8. Any person affected by any of the restrictions in this Order may apply to the Court to vary or discharge this Order (or so much of it as affects that person), but written notice of any such application and the evidence relied upon must first be given to the Claimant’s solicitors (Dicksons Solicitors).