RS -v- Royal Borough of Kingston upon Thames (anonymity order)

Administrative CourtHigh CourtKing's Bench DivisionAnonymity Order

Claim number: AC-2023-LON-003779

In the High Court of Justice
King’s Bench Division
Administrative Court

2 January 2024

Before:

The Honourable Mrs Justice Lang DBE

Between:

The King on the application of
RS

-v-

Royal Borough of Kingston upon Thames

Order

On the Claimant’s application for urgent consideration and interim relief;
Following consideration of the documents lodged by the Claimant;

Order by the Honourable Mrs Justice Lang DBE

  1. The Defendant shall file and serve its Acknowledgment of Service no later than Monday 8 January 2024, at 12 noon.
  2. The Claimant shall file and serve a Reply and any further evidence, no later than Thursday 11 January 2024, at 12 noon.
  3. The Claimant’s application for interim relief shall be listed for hearing as soon as possible from Monday 15 January 2024 onwards. Time estimate: 2½ hours.
  4. Pursuant to CPR r.39.2, in any report of these proceedings, there shall be no publication of the name and address of the Claimant, nor any other particulars likely to lead to her identification. In the proceedings, the Claimant shall be anonymised and referred to as “RS”.
  5. Within 7 days of the date of this order, the Claimant’s solicitors shall file with the Court copies of case documents which have been anonymised and/or redacted to protect the identity of the Claimant, in accordance with paragraph 4 above.
  6. 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 Claimant, in accordance with paragraph 4 above.
  7. Liberty to apply to vary or discharge this order on 2 days notice to the other party.
  8. Costs reserved.

Reasons

  1. I have granted an anonymity order as the Claimant and her young children appear to be at risk of harm from her ex-partner and his brother, who have been charged with assault. In the circumstances, a departure from the general principle of open justice is justified.
  2. The Claimant, who lives with her four children, presented as homeless to the Defendant as long ago as 3 November 2023, because she feared that she and her children were at risk of further domestic violence. Their temporary accommodation with a relative is overcrowded and unsatisfactory, and they have been asked to vacate it.
  3. The Defendant has failed to offer her accommodation under section 188 Housing Act 1996, despite frequent requests. Although no formal decision has been issued, the emails from the Defendant indicate that it resists the application, and so a hearing will be required.
  4. I do not consider it is realistic for the Court to hear the application any sooner than the week commencing 15 January 2024. I have ordered the Defendant to file its Acknowledgment of Service no later than 8 January 2024 because the claim was not served on the Defendant until 22 December 2023, and its officials and lawyers will have been on leave during the Christmas and New Year holiday periods, and unaware of the abridged time limit ordered today. It is important that the Claimant then has time to respond by way of a Reply, as new points may be raised which she and her lawyers have not already dealt with. The Judge hearing the claim then needs time to consider all the documents that have been filed, prior to the hearing. I have dispensed with skeleton arguments, in order to expedite the hearing.