CMP and another -v- County Durham and Darlington NHS Foundation Trust and others (anonymity order)
Claim no QB-2022-000776
In the High Court of Justice
King’s Bench Division
17 February 2025
Before:
His Honour Judge Siddique, sitting as a deputy judge of the High Court
Between:
CMP
DXS (Administrators of the Estate of PXD, Deceased)
-v-
County Durham and Darlington NHS Foundation Trust
Dr James Carlton
North East Ambulance Service NHS Foundation Trust
Order
Before His Honour Judge Siddique, sitting as a deputy judge of the High Court, at the Royal Courts of Justice, Strand, London on 17th February 2025
UPON HEARING Howard Elgot counsel for the Claimants and Simon Hilton counsel for the Defendants
AND UPON
(1) Consideration of the Article 8 rights of the Claimants to respect for private and family life, and the Article 10 right to freedom of expression.
(2) It appearing that non-disclosure of the identity of the Claimants is necessary to secure the proper administration of justice and in order to protect the interests of the Claimants and Dependants and that there is no sufficient countervailing public interest in disclosure.
(3) The Defendants indicating their neutrality to the making of the order and there being no representations from the press or any other interested party.
AND PURSUANT to section 6 of the Human Rights Act 1998, section 39 Children & Young Persons Act 1933 and CPR rules 5.4C, 5.4D and 39.2(4)
WHEREAS for the purposes of this order:
(1) ‘Publication’ includes any speech, writing, broadcast, or other communication in whatever form (including internet and social media), which is addressed to the public at large or any section of the public.
(2) Publication for the purpose of this Order includes any further publication (as defined in subparagraph (i) above) from the date of this Order, even if such information has derived from a previous stage or stages of these proceedings
AND WHEREAS
(1) the Court has been informed that the Court of Appeal are to hear an appeal in the case of PMC v A Local Health Board 2024 EWHC 2969 (KB) in early course;
and further
(2) that the court has ordered that there shall be a case management conference herein on the first open date after 1st October 2025 (“the first case management conference”)
IT IS ORDERED THAT:
1. The identity of the Claimants as parties to these proceedings is confidential and shall not be published.
2. Pursuant to CPR Rule 39.2(4), there shall not be disclosed in any report of these proceedings or other publication the names or addresses of the Claimants, the Dependants, or other immediate family members, or any details (including other names, addresses, or a specific combination of facts) that could lead to the identification of the Dependants in these proceedings. The Claimants and Dependants shall be referred to as set out at paragraph 3 of this Order.
3. In any judgment or report of these proceedings, or other publication (by whatever medium) in relation thereto:
(i) The First Claimant/First Dependant shall be referred to as “CMP”
(ii) The Second Claimant shall be referred to as “DXS”
(iii) The Second Dependant shall be referred to as “XLZ”
(iv) The Third Dependant shall be referred to as “XPZ”
(v) The Fourth Dependant shall be referred to as “XJZ”
(vi) The Fifth Dependant shall be referred to as “XEZ”
(vii) Any other details which, on their own or together with other information publicly available, may lead to the identification of the Claimants or the Dependants or each or any of them (including any names of other immediate family members or their addresses) shall be redacted before publication.
4. Pursuant to CPR Rules 5.4C and 5.4D:
(i) A person who is not a party to the proceedings may not obtain a copy of a statement of case, judgment or order from the Court records unless the statement of case, judgment or order has been anonymised in accordance with subparagraphs 3(i) to (vii) above.
(ii) If a person who is not a party to the proceedings applies (pursuant to CPR r.5.4C(1B) or (2)) for permission to inspect or obtain a copy of any other document or communication, such application shall be on at least 7 days’ notice to the Claimants’ solicitor.
5. The Claimants’ solicitor shall file with the Court an electronic (PDF) bundle of the statements of case that has been anonymised in accordance with paragraph 3 above by 17th March 2025, and re-filed in the event that any statement of case is amended, within 21 days of such amendment being approved.
6. The Court file shall be clearly marked with the words “An anonymity order was made in this case on 17th February 2025 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. Any interested party, whether or not a party to the proceedings, may apply to the Court to vary or discharge this Order, provided that any such application is made on 7 days’ notice to the Claimants’ solicitor.
8. Pursuant to 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 the Judicial Website of the High Court of Justice (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.
9. The costs of obtaining this order be costs in the case.
10. This anonymity order shall be reviewed at the first case management