MC -v- Greenwood and Coope Limited (anonymity order)
Claim number: G90MA162
In the High Court of Justice
King’s Bench Division
Manchester District Registry
14 December 2023
Before:
HHJ Pearce sitting as a Judge of the High Court
Between:
MC (a protected party by his Litigation Friend, EC)
-v-
Greenwood and Coope Limited
Order
BEFORE HHJ Pearce, sitting as a judge of the High Court.
UPON hearing Counsel for the Claimant and Counsel for the Defendant.
WHEREAS the Claimant is a vulnerable party and has made a claim against the Defendant for personal injuries sustained by him arising out of the Defendant’s negligence on 20 June 2017.
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 IT APPEARING that non-disclosure of the identity of the Claimant is necessary in order to protect the interests of the Claimant.
AND PURSUANT to rule 39.2(4) of the Civil Procedure Rules and section II of the Contempt of Court Act 1981 and rules 5.4C and 5.4D of the Civil Procedure Rules.
IT IS ORDERED:
1. That the identity of the Claimant and his litigation friend be not disclosed.
2. That the Claimant 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 “MC”.
3. That the Claimant’s litigation friend 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 “EC”.
4. That the address of the Claimant and/or his Litigation Friend 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.
5. Any statement of case or other document disclosing the Claimant’s name or address and/or that of his Litigation Friend already filed in the proceedings be replaced by a document describing such name or address in the anonymised form as above.
6. That the original of any such document disclosing the name or address of the Claimant and/or his Litigation Friend be placed on the Court file in a sealed envelope marked “not to be opened without the permission of a Judge, Master or District Judge of the Kings Bench Division”.
7. That 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 must be made on notice to the Claimant, and the Court will effect service. The file is to be retained by the Court and marked “Anonymised”.
8. That reporting restrictions apply as to the disclosing of any information that may lead to the subsequent identification of the Claimant and/or his Litigation Friend in relation to these proceedings. The publication of the name and address of the Claimant and/or his Litigation Friend or of any member of the Claimant’s immediate family is prohibited in relation to these proceedings.
9. The provisions of this Order shall not apply to:
a) communications between the Court Funds Office and the anonymised party 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;
b) communications between the Court Funds Office and/or the anonymised party any financial institution concerned as to the receipt or investment of such money;
c) records kept by the Court Funds Office or the anonymised party or any such financial institution in relation to such money;
d) communications between the Deputy in the Court of Protection and the anonymised party in relation to the payment of money into or out of the Deputyship Account;
e) to records kept by the Court of Protection in relation to such money;
f) communications strictly between the Claimant/Claimant’s solicitors and the Claimant’s union, Unite, in relation to the claim.
g) communications between the parties and the DWP.
10. Any non-party affected by this Order may apply on notice to all parties to have this Order set aside or varied.