TT -v- Essex County Council (anonymity order)
Case No: CO/1623/2022
In the High Court of Justice
Queen’s Bench Division
Administrative Court
Date: 06/07/2022
Before:
The Honourable Mrs Justice Ellenbogen DBE
Between:
The Queen on the application of
TT (by her litigation friend, Claire Hughes)
-v-
Essex County Council
Notification of the Judge’s decision on the application for permission to apply for judicial review (CPR 54.11, 54.12), on the Claimant’s application for anonymity and on the Defendant’s application to extend time, retrospectively, for the filing and service of its Acknowledgement of Service by one day, and for relief from sanction
Following consideration of the documents lodged by the parties
And on the Claimant raising no objection to the extension of time sought by the Defendant
And on the Defendant raising no objection to the order for anonymity sought by the Claimant
ORDER by The Honourable Mrs Justice Ellenbogen DBE
1. The identity of the Claimant in these proceedings shall not be published.
2. Pursuant to CPR Rule 39.2(4), there shall not be disclosed in any report of these proceedings, or other publication (by whatever medium) in relation to these proceedings, the name or address of the Claimant or any other matters which could lead to her identification.
3. In any report of these proceedings, or other publication (by whatever medium) in relation to these proceedings, the Claimant shall be referred to as “TT” and any matters which could lead to the identification of the Claimant shall be redacted.
4. Pursuant to CPR Rule 5.4C:
a. a person who is not a party to the proceedings may obtain a copy of a claim form, judgment or order from the court records only if the same has been anonymised and redacted in accordance with paragraphs 2 and 3 of this order;
b. if a person who is not a party to the proceedings applies for permission to obtain a copy of any other document or communication, such application shall be on at least 7 days’ written notice to the Claimant’s solicitors;
c. any interested party, whether or not a party to the proceedings, may apply to the Court to vary or revoke paragraphs 1 to 4(b) of this Order, provided that any such application is made on written notice to the Claimant’s solicitors and that 3 days’ prior written notice of the intention to make such an application is given.
5. The orders made at paragraphs 1 to 4 above are subject to review at the substantive hearing listed by paragraph 8, below.
6. Time for the filing and service of the Defendant’s Acknowledgement of Service is extended to 7 June 2022 and the Defendant is granted relief from sanction.
7. The application for permission to apply for judicial review is granted.
8. The application is to be listed for one day, at an in-person hearing at the Royal Courts of Justice. The parties are to provide a written time estimate within 7 days of service of this order if they disagree with this direction.
Observations
Extension of time and relief from sanction
The delay of 24 hours in filing and service of the Acknowledgement of Service was not serious or significant and ultimately occurred as a result of counsel being delayed in court on another matter. No objection was raised by the Claimant to the delay and no prejudice has been caused by it. Having considered all the circumstances of the case, so as to enable me to deal justly with the application, I am satisfied that it is appropriate to grant both the extension sought and relief from sanction.
Anonymity
The Claimant is 17 years old and the claim is concerned with sensitive personal information about her private and family life. In those circumstances, I consider it appropriate to grant anonymity at this stage; the potentially competing rights to freedom of expression and a fair trial (the principle of open justice) are protected by the liberty to apply provision at paragraph 4(c), which extends to the Defendant and would include representatives of the Press and other media, as interested parties. The anonymity orders are subject to review by the judge at the hearing of her claim.
Case Management Directions
1. Within 14 days of the date of service of this order:
a. the Claimant is to lodge and serve written consent (if given) by each young person, other than the Claimant, to whose case history the witness statement of Ms Kelly Lorraine Everett or Ms Claire Hughes refers, to the Defendant’s use of the records relating to that person for the purposes of these proceedings. Each such person should be asked to provide consent on the basis that any reference made to him or her in these proceedings by any party, and by the Court, will be anonymised;
b. in relation to any young person to whose case history the above witness statements refer who has not provided consent as above, the Claimant is to lodge and serve her proposals as to the way forward, to which the Defendant should lodge and serve its response within 7 days. Thereafter, the matter will be referred to a judge of the Administrative Court to consider appropriate further directions.
2. 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 49 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. For the avoidance of doubt, a party who has filed and served Summary Grounds pursuant to CPR 54.8 may comply with (a) above by filing and serving a document which states that those Summary Grounds shall stand as the Detailed Grounds required by CPR 54.14.
3. Any application by the Claimant to serve evidence in reply shall be filed and served within 21 days of the date on which the Defendant serves evidence pursuant to 1(b) above.
4. The parties shall agree the contents of the hearing bundle and must file it with the Court not less than 4 weeks before the date of the hearing of the judicial review. An electronic version of the bundle shall be prepared and lodged in accordance with the Guidance on the Administrative Court website. The parties shall, if requested by the Court lodge 2 hard-copy versions of the hearing bundle.
5. The Claimant must file and serve a skeleton argument not less than 21 days before the date of the hearing of the judicial review.
6. The Defendant and any Interested Party must file and serve a skeleton argument not less than 14 days before the date of the hearing of the judicial review.
7. The parties shall agree the contents of a bundle containing the authorities to be referred to at the hearing. An electronic version of the bundle shall be prepared in accordance with the Guidance on the Administrative Court website. The parties shall, if requested by the Court, prepare a hard-copy version of the authorities bundle. The electronic version of the bundle and if requested, the hard copy version of the bundle, shall be lodged with the Court not less than 3 days before the date of the hearing of the judicial review.
8. Liberty to each party to apply in relation to paragraph 1 of these case management directions.