XXX -v- University Hospital Southampton NHS Foundation Trust (anonymity order)
Claim No: QB-2022-000666
IN THE HIGH COURT OF JUSTICE
QUEEN’S BENCH DIVISION
Date: 05/04/2022
Before:
THE HONOURABLE MR JUSTICE RITCHIE
Between:
XXX
(A PROTECTED PARTY ACTING BY HIS LITIGATION FRIEND
YYY)
-v-
UNIVERSITY HOSPITAL SOUTHAMPTON NHS FOUNDATION TRUST
ORDER
BEFORE The Honourable Mr Justice Ritchie at the Royal Courts of Justice, the Strand, London, WC2A 2LL on 5 April 2022
AND UPON HEARING Mr Adrian Hopkins, one of her Majesty’s Counsel, on behalf of the Claimant and Mr Giles Colin of Counsel, on behalf of the Defendant
UPON CONSIDERING an application for anonymity by the Claimant made on 5 April 2022 and the bundles filed herein in relation to an application for approval of a settlement of the Claimant’s claim.
AND UPON the Court considering that the Claimant is (or may be) a protected party and is represented herein by the Litigation Friend.
AND UPON:
(a) consideration of the Claimant’s Article 8 right to respect for private and family life and the Article 10 right to freedom of expression;
(b) the Defendants indicating their neutrality to the making of the order and there being no representations from the press or any other interested party;
(c) the press making no representations to the contrary.
AND UPON IT APPEARING that non-disclosure of the identity of the Claimant and the Litigation Friend 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.
NOW IT IS ORDERED:
Identity and address
1. That the identity of the Claimant and of the Litigation Friend shall not be disclosed.
2. That reporting restrictions apply as to the disclosing of any information that may lead to the subsequent identification of the Claimant or the 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.
Documents filed in future
3. That the names of Claimant and the Litigation Friend shall be described in all statements of case and other documents to be filed or served in the proceedings in future and in any judgment or order in the proceedings and in any report of the proceedings by the press or otherwise as “XXX” and “YYY” respectively.
4. That the address of the Claimant and of the Litigation Friend shall 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.
Court files
5. That 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 shall be replaced by a document describing such name or address in anonymised form as above.
6. That the original of any such document disclosing the name or address of the Claimant or of the Litigation Friend placed on the Court file (digital or paper) shall be marked “confidential: not to be opened without the permission of a Master or High Court Judge”.
7. That a non-party may not inspect or obtain a copy of any document on or from the Court’s paper or digital files (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 14 days notice to the Claimant’s solicitor or deputy and the Court will affect service.
8. The court’s paper and digital files are to be marked “Anonymised”.
Exceptions
9. The provisions of this Order shall not apply: –
a. to communications between the Court Funds Office and the anonymised party or 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 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.
9. Provided that the parties and/or their advisers do not publish any documents containing references to the Claimant or the Litigation Friend by name or address the parties and/or their advisers be at liberty to retain their files in this case without alteration or substitution and to retain and generate inter partes correspondence and internal documentation which identifies the Claimant and the Litigation Friend for the purposes of this action and paragraphs 1 to 4 above shall not apply in those respects.
Procedure
10. That the Claimant shall by 19 April 2022 draw and file this Order and serve the same on the Defendant.
11. The parties and any non-party affected by this Order may apply on notice to all parties to have this Order set aside or varied.
Ritchie J
Dated this 5th day of April 2022