OGL -v- East Lancashire Hospitals NHS Trust (anonymity order)
Claim No: QB-2002-001733
IN THE HIGH COURT OF JUSTICE
QUEEN’S BENCH DIVISION
Date: 29/06/2022
Before:
Master Cook
Between:
OGL (A Protected Party by BL her Litigation Friend)
-v-
EAST LANCASHIRE HOSPITALS NHS TRUST
ANONYMITY ORDER
BEFORE Master Cook sitting at the Royal Courts of Justice on 29 June 2022
UPON HEARING Emily Formby, Queen’s Counsel, on behalf of the Claimant and upon an oral application made on 29 June 2022
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 the Court being satisfied that an Order in the terms below is necessary to protect the interest of the Claimant and her family and there is no countervailing public interest in disclosure.
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 THAT:
1. The identity of the Claimant and of the litigation friend shall not be disclosed.
2. That pursuant to CPR 39.2(4) Claimant and the 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 “OGL” and “BL”.
3. The address of the Claimant and of the 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.
4. In so far as necessary, any statement of case or other document disclosing the Claimant’s name or address or the name or address of the litigation friend already filed in the proceedings 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 or of the litigation friend is to be placed on the Court file which shall be marked “not to be opened without the permission of a Judge or Master of the Queen’s Bench Division”.
6. Pursuant to CPR 5.4C a person who is not a party to these proceedings may obtain a copy of a statement of case, judgment or order from the Court records only if the statement of case, judgment or order has been anonymised such that (a) the Claimant is referred to as OGL and the Litigation Friend as BL (b) the address has been deleted from those documents and (c) all details that may lead to their identification are omitted or deleted.
7. 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 affect service. The file is to be retained by the Court and marked “Anonymised”.
8. Reporting restrictions apply as to the disclosing of any information that may lead to the subsequent identification of the Claimant or litigation friend. The publication of the name and address of the Claimant or of any member of the Claimant’s immediate family or the name and address of the litigation friend is prohibited.
9. The provisions of this Order shall not apply:
a) to any communications between the Court Funds Office and the anonymised party and Litigation Friend 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 or payment out of such money;
b) to communications between the Court Funds Office and/ or the anonymised party or Litigation Friend and any financial institution concerned as to the receipt or investment of such money; or
c) to records kept by the Court Funds Office or the anonymised party or Litigation Friend or any such financial institution in relation to such money.
10. Nothing in paragraphs 1 to 9 above shall prohibit the parties from disclosing the Claimant’s name, address or any other information tending to identify her to the Compensation Recovery Unit of the Department for Work and Pensions and/or the Defendant, its insurers or insurer’s successors in title, reinsurers, their legal and professional advisers or an annuity provider or to HM Revenue & Customs (or its successor) or any other person required by law.
11. A copy of this order shall be published on the Judicial Website of the High Court of Justice specifying that the Claimant shall be referred to as OGL and her Litigation Friend as BL.
12. Any non-party affected by this Order may apply on notice to all parties to have this Order set aside or varied.
DATED this 29th day of June 2022