KO and another -v- Devon County Council (anonymity order)
Administrative CourtHigh CourtKing's Bench DivisionAnonymity Order
Claim number: CO/1947/2023
AC-2023-LON-001646
In the High Court of Justice
King’s Bench Division
Administrative Court
7 May 2024
Before:
The Honourable Mrs Justice Lang DBE
Between:
The King on the application of
KO (a child by his mother and litigation friend, SO)
OW (a child by her mother and litigation friend, SO)
-v-
Devon County Council
and
First-tier Tribunal (Special Education Needs and Disability)
(Interested party)
Order
Notification of the Judge’s decision on the application for permission to apply for judicial review (CPR 54.11, 54.12)
Following consideration of the documents lodged by the parties;
Order by the Honourable Mrs Justice Lang DBE
1. The application for permission to apply for judicial review is adjourned to be listed in court as a “rolled-up hearing”. If permission to apply for judicial review is granted at that hearing, the Court will proceed immediately to determine the substantive claim.
2. The application is to be listed for 1 day; the parties to provide a written estimate within 7 days of service of this order if they disagree with that estimate.
3. In view of the delay since the claim was filed, the parties shall provide updating statements as follows:
a. No later than 14 days from the date of service of this order, the Claimants shall file at Court and serve on the Defendant a position statement summarising any relevant developments since the claim was filed, and indicating whether the issues in the claim remain ‘live’ or have become academic;
b. No later than 14 days from the date of service of the Claimants’ position statement under paragraph 3(a) above, the Defendant shall file and serve a position statement summarising any relevant developments since the claim was filed, and indicating whether the issues in the claim remain ‘live’ or have become academic.
4. Suitable for hearing by a Deputy High Court Judge.
5. Venue: London.
6. Pursuant to CPR r.39.2, in any report of these proceedings, there shall be no publication of the name and address of the Claimants and their litigation friend, nor any other particulars likely to lead to their identification. In the proceedings, the Claimants shall be anonymised and referred to as “KO” and “OW” and their litigation friend shall be anonymised and referred to as “SO”.
7. Non-parties may not obtain any documents from the court file which have not been anonymised and/or redacted to protect the identity of the Claimants and their litigation friend, in accordance with paragraph 6 above.
8. Liberty to the parties to apply to vary this order on 5 days notice to the other parties.
9. Costs in the case.
Case Management Directions
10. The Claimants must, within 7 days of the date of service of this Order, file an undertaking to pay the continuation fee (see below) if permission to apply for Judicial Review is granted.
11. The Defendant and any other person served with the Claim Form who wishes to contest the claim or support it on additional grounds shall, within 28 days of the date of service of this Order, file and serve (a) Detailed Grounds for contesting the claim or supporting it on additional grounds, and (b) any written evidence that is to be relied on.
12. The Claimants may file and serve any Reply and any further evidence within 14 days of the date on which the Defendant serves Detailed Grounds and/or evidence.
13. The Defendant must file and serve an agreed hearing bundle, not less than 21 days before the date of the hearing. The electronic version of the bundle shall be prepared and lodged by the Defendant in accordance with the Guidance on the Administrative Court website. The Defendant must also lodge two hard-copy versions of the hearing bundle at the Administrative Court Office, not less than 14 days before the date of the hearing.
14. The Claimants must file and serve a Skeleton Argument not less than 21 days before the date of the hearing.
15. The Defendant, and any Interested Party wishing to participate in the proceedings, must file and serve a Skeleton Argument not less than 14 days before the date of the hearing.
16. The Defendant must file and serve an agreed authorities bundle, not less than 5 days before the date of the hearing. The electronic version of the bundle shall be prepared by the Defendant in accordance with the Guidance on the Administrative Court website. The Defendant must also lodge a hard-copy version of the authorities bundle at the Administrative Court Office, not less than 5 days before the date of the hearing.
Special measures
17. The following special measures shall apply in these proceedings:
a. The Defendant shall be responsible for preparing the bundles for the hearing, as set out in the Case Management Directions;
b. SO has permission to attend the hearing remotely;
c. SO has permission to be accompanied by her (non-legal) advocate or other individual to support her (“her supporter”);
d. SO will be permitted a short break of 10 minutes every hour;
e. During the hearing, SO or her advocate/supporter can request additional breaks if needed.
Observations
1. I have ordered a rolled-up hearing because of the long delay in progressing this claim which was commenced in May 2023 and the likelihood of significant developments since then, as well as the complexity of the issues and the interplay with other claims made by the Claimants and/or SO.
2. I have directed that position statements be filed and served so as to update the Court. If the claim has become academic, SO is invited to consider discontinuing it, as she has done in other similar claims.
3. I have adopted the special measures directed by the Court in other claims made by SO. SO has liberty to apply to vary these measures if they are no longer appropriate.
4. I have made anonymity orders in respect of the Claimants because they are children, and also in respect of their mother, who is their litigation friend.