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

High CourtKing's Bench DivisionAnonymity Order

Claim Number. QB-2022-000678

In the High Court of Justice
Kings Bench Division

12 February 2024

Before:
His Honour Judge Auerbach sitting as a Judge of the High Court in the Royal Courts of Justice

Between:

FXX
(Administrator of the estate of GXX deceased
and on behalf of all Dependants)

-v-

(1) Frimley Health NHS Foundation Trust
(2) Royal Berkshire NHS Foundation Trust

Anonymity Order

UPON HEARING His Majesty’s Counsel for the Claimant and Counsel for the Defendants


AND UPON
(1) Consideration of the Article 8 rights of the Claimant and Dependants of the Estate to respect for private and family life and the Article 10 right to freedom of expression.
(2) It appearing that non-disclosure of the identities of the Claimant and Dependants is necessary in order to protect the interests of the Claimant and Dependants and 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.
(4) Noting that pursuant to the ‘Practice Guidance: Publication of Privacy and Anonymity Orders’ issued by the Master of the Rolls on 17 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 pdf copy of the order by email to the Judicial Office at judicialwebupdates@judiciary.uk.
AND UPON the Court having made an Order at the outset of the hearing requiring the identity of the Claimant and Dependants to be withheld from the public during the proceedings before the Court


AND PURSUANT to Section 11 of the Contempt of Court Act 1981, and CPR 5.4 A to D and CPR 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.


IT IS ORDERED THAT:

  1. The identity of the Claimant and Dependants of the Estate as parties to these proceedings is confidential and shall not published. There be substituted for all purposes of this case, in place of references to the Claimant by name and whether orally or in writing, references to “FXX”. Likewise, the Dependants shall be referred to as “HXX”, “IXX”, “JXX”, and “KXX”. The Deceased shall be referred to as “GXX”.
  2. The Claimant, the Deceased and all Dependants shall be described in all statements of case and other documents to be filed 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 “FXX”, “GXX”, and “HXX”, “IXX”, “JXX”, and “KXX”, respectively.
  3. The address of the Claimant and Dependants shall be stated in all statements of case and other documents to be filed or served in the proceedings as the address of the Claimant’s solicitors.
  4. Insofar as is necessary, any statement of case or other document already filed in the proceedings disclosing the name or address of the Claimant, the Deceased and the Dependants is to be replaced by a document describing such name or address in anonymised form as above.
  5. The original of any such document disclosing the name or address of the Claimant, the Deceased and the Dependants is to be placed in the Court file in a sealed envelope marked “not to be opened without the permission of a Judge, Master or District Judge of the King’s Bench Division”. Any electronic file shall be marked “Confidential – not to be opened without the permission of a Judge, Master or District Judge of the King’s Bench Division”
  6. Pursuant to CPR Rules 5.4C and 5.4C:
    (i) A non-party may not inspect or obtain a copy of any document on or from the Court file (other than this Order duly anonymised as directed) without the permission of a Master or District Judge. Any application for such permission shall be made on at least 7 days’ notice to the Claimant and the Court will effect service. The 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 Claimant, the Deceased and the Dependants. The publication of the name and/or address of the Claimant or of any member of the Claimant or Deceased’s immediate family or the name and/or address of the Dependants is prohibited.
  8. The provisions of this Order shall not apply to:
    (i) Communications between the Court Funds Office and the anonymised party or Dependants in relation to the payment of money into the Court Funds Office for the benefit of the anonymised party or the investment or treatment of payment out of such money;
    (ii) Communications between the Court Funds Office and/or the anonymised party or Dependants and any financial institution concerned as to the receipt or investment of such money;
    (iii) Records kept by the Court Funds Office or the anonymised party or Dependants or any such financial institution in relation to such money.
    (iv) Retention by the parties and/or their representatives of their unredacted files for the purposes of their continuing functions and obligations in relation to the proceedings.
  9. Nothing in paragraphs 1 to 8 above shall prohibit the Defendants or their indemnifiers and their legal and professional advisers from disclosing the Claimant or Deceased’s name, address or any information tending to identify them to any other person or body as required by law or for the purpose of the conduct of this litigation or complying with any order of the Court.
  10. The Court file shall be clearly marked with the words “An anonymity Order was made in this case on 12 February 2024 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”.
  11. 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 Claimant’s solicitor, trustee or deputy.
  12. The costs of obtaining this order be costs in the case.

Dated this 12th day of February 2024