Committal for Contempt of Court: Rowland & Rowland -v- Stanford
Business and Property CourtsBusiness ListCivilCommittal for Contempt of Court
Neutral Citation Number: [2022] EWHC 1436 (Ch)
Case No: BL-2020-001419
IN THE HIGH COURT OF JUSTICE
BUSINESS AND PROPERTY COURTS OF ENGLAND AND WALES
BUSINESS LIST (ChD)
Date: 13/06/2022
Before:
MR JUSTICE ADAM JOHNSON
Between :
(1) JONATHAN DAVID ROWLAND
(2) DAVID JOHN ROWLAND
-v-
KEVIN GERALD STANFORD
Committal for Contempt of Court in Open Court at the High Court of Justice (Chancery Division)
Pursuant to paragraph 13 of the Practice Direction: Committal for Contempt of Court – Open Court dated 26 March 2015
In relation to claim No. BL-2020-001419 on 13 June 2022 at the Royal Courts of Justice in London Mr Justice Adam Johnson sentenced Mr Kevin Gerald Stanford to an immediate custodial sentence of 8 months for contempt of Court. The basis of the sentence was that Mr Stanford committed three breaches of an Order dated 21 April 2021. That Order required Mr Stanford (i) by 4pm on 5 May 2021 to permit the Claimants’ solicitors to take an image or images of the documents and data referred in paragraph 1 (referred to as the “Archive”); (ii) by 4pm on 19 May 2021 to provide to the Claimants’ solicitors the correspondence or communications referred to in paragraph 2; and (iii) by 4pm on 19 May 2021 to swear and serve on the Claimants’ solicitors an affidavit providing full and accurate details of how he came into possession of the Archive and steps taken to make use of it (paragraph 3). Sentences of imprisonment of 8 months were imposed in respect of each of the three breaches, such sentences to run concurrently. The Court gave permission to Mr Stanford to purge his contempt and to apply for early release and discharge if he complies with the Order.