Daedone -v- The British Broadcasting Corporation (anonymity order)

Media and Communications ListQueen's Bench DivisionAnonymity Order

Claim No: QB-2021-004135

In the High Court of Justice
Queen’s Bench Division
Media and Communications List

13 July 2022

Before:
The Honourable Mr Justice Pepperall

Between
(1) Nicole Daedone
(2) Rachel Cherwitz
(3) Onetaste Incorporated
(4) The Institute of Om LLC
(5) Om IP Co
-v-
The British Broadcasting Corporation
and
FLA


It is Ordered and Directed as Follows:

(1) The application will be heard by Pepperall J at Lincoln Crown Court at 11 am on 20 July 2022 with a time estimate of 1½ hours.
(2) The application will be listed for hearing in public.
(3) Until the hearing of this application:
a. The Applicant’s name shall appear in any public list as FLA.
b. The Applicant’s identity shall not be disclosed save as directed by paragraph 4 below.
(4) The Applicant shall serve the following documentation on the media by way of the Injunction Applications Alerts Service by no later than 4pm on 14 July 2022:
a. The application notice.
b. The draft order sought at the hearing.
c. The evidence filed in support of the application together with the exhibit to the Applicant’s witness statement.
d. This order.
(5) In the event that the parties to these proceedings wish to rely on any evidence either in response to or support of this application, they do file and serve such evidence by no later than 4pm on 15 July 2022.
(6) The Applicant do file and serve an agreed paginated and indexed bundle for the hearing by no later than 10 am on 18 July 2022. The bundle shall be provided in both hard copy and searchable electronic format to the judge’s clerk by the same deadline.
(7) Any person (whether or not a party to these proceedings) seeking to be heard at the hearing of this application do file and exchange skeleton arguments and the Applicant do file an agreed bundle of authorities by no later than 10 am on 19 July 2022.
(8) Costs reserved.
(9) This order has been made of the court’s own initiative without giving the parties an opportunity to make representations. Any party or non-party may apply pursuant to rules 3.3(5) and 39.2(5) of the Civil Procedure Rules 1998 to vary or discharge this order, but any such application must be filed and served on each of the parties including the Applicant (via the Applicant’s solicitors, by email, to Dina.Shiloh@smab.co.uk, Emma.Linch@smab.co.uk and Enfys.Jenkins@smab.co.uk) and the media by the Alerts Service by no later than 4pm on 15 July 2022.

Reasons

(1) Publicity would defeat the object of the hearing on 20 July 2022 which is to determine an application that the identity of the Applicant should not be disclosed in these proceedings. It is, however, unlikely to be necessary to sit in private since, subject to further argument, I consider that this application can be properly argued with some lesser derogation from the principle of open justice, namely by referring throughout the hearing to the Applicant as FLA and taking care not to disclose in open court any of the matters that would lead to the Applicant’s identity being revealed. Accordingly, the application will be listed for hearing in public but at such hearing the Applicant or other parties or non-parties may seek a direction that the court sit in private for some or all of the hearing.
(2) It is not appropriate to limit the documents served upon the media to the redacted application notice and draft order, as sought by the Applicant. Media organisations must be able to consider the application properly in order to determine whether they wish to be heard and this is not a case that is so sensitive that the court should direct that the Applicant’s name be withheld from the media. Responsible media organisations can be trusted not to defeat the object of the hearing.
(3) It is, however, necessary in order to secure the proper administration of justice and in order to protect the Applicant’s interests to direct that the Applicant’s name should be anonymised in the court list and that the Applicant’s identity should not be disclosed, save to the media, pending the hearing of this application.