YXA -v- Lancashire County Council (anonymity order)
Claim No: QB-2022-001475
IN THE HIGH COURT OF JUSTICE
QUEEN’S BENCH DIVISION
Date: 10/05/2022
Before:
Master Dagnall
Sitting In Private
Between:
YXA
-v-
1. Lancashire County Council
2. Blackburn with Darwen Borough Council
ANONYMITY ORDER
UPON the Application (“the Application”) of the Claimant/Applicant (“the
Claimant) made by Notice of Application dated 9 May 2022 And without a
Hearing or Notice of the Application having been served upon the Defendants
(”the Defendants”)
AND UPON reading the witness statement of Richard Scorer of 9 May 2022
in support of the Application
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 Court considering the Notice of Application AND THAT:
1. The action is one which is likely to attract significant media attention
and publicity.
2. The action relates to various alleged assaults including alleged sexual
assault and where the Claimant was then a child, and where, at least if
the matter were the subject of criminal proceedings, the Claimant might
be entitled to the protection of section 1 of the Sexual Offences
(Amendment) Act 1992 and/or the Sexual Offences Act 2003, and to
matters which do or may attract statutory anonymity and provisions
against publication of the identity or address/location of the Claimant
and their family
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3. Publicity revealing the identity or address/location of the Claimant could
unfairly damage the interest of the Claimant and their family and give
rise to serious harm to the Claimant or their family.
4. Non-disclosure of the identity of and anonymity of the Claimant and of
their family and of their addresses/locations is necessary in order to
protect the interests of the Claimant and of them and to secure the
proper administration of justice.
5. The Claimant’s identity and address/location ought to be withheld from
the public and should not be published, and that the Court should allow
these prohibitions and give consequential directions, and that such
prohibitions are necessary to secure the proper administration of
justice
6. It is necessary to sit in private to secure the proper administration of
justice, and including because publicity would subvert the purpose of
the Application and this Order.
AND pursuant to the section 11 Contempt of Court Act 1981, section 6 of the
Human Rights Act 1998, Civil Procedure Rules 1998 rules 1.1, 1.2, 3.1, 3.3,
3.10, 5.4 A-D and 39.2 and the inherent jurisdiction of the Court.
IT IS ORDERED AND DIRECTED THAT:-
1. The identity and the address/location of the Claimant and of their family
be not disclosed or published without the permission of the court (other
than as required for the purposes of the carrying on of this action).
2. There be substituted for all purposes in this application in place of
references to the Claimant by name, and whether orally or in writing,
reference to the sequence of characters, YXA; and the Claimant shall
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 “YXA”.
3. The address of the Claimant 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; and the Claimant is granted
permission to have issued their Claim Form accordingly.
4. That insofar as necessary, any statement of case or other document
disclosing the Claimant’s name or address already filed in the
proceedings be replaced by a document describing such name or
address in anonymised form as above (and in the meantime shall be
kept confidential), and the Claimant’s solicitor shall have permission to
file with the court such copies of such documents adjusted so as to
comply therewith.
5. The original of any such statement of case or other document
disclosing the name or address/location of the Claimant (and in
particular any Application Notice, or any statement of case, judgment,
Order or other document to which anyone might have access to
pursuant to Rule 5.4 A-D or otherwise at any time) are to be retained
by the Court in a sealed envelope, marked “Not to be opened without
the permission of a Judge or Master or District Judge of the Queen’s
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Bench Division”, or, if electronically filed or scanned, shall be placed on
the court file and marked “confidential: not to be opened without the
permission of a Master or High Court Judge”.
6. Any person not a party to this action may not inspect or obtain a copy
of any document on or from the Court file (other than this order duly
anonymised as directed) and whether pursuant to Part 5.4 A-D of the
Civil Procedure Rules or otherwise, without the permission of a Judge
or Master of the Queen’s Bench Division. Any application for such
permission must be made on notice to the Claimant and the Court will
effect service. The Court file is to be retained by the Court and marked
“Anonymised”.
7. The reporting restrictions apply as to the disclosing of any information
that may lead to the subsequent identification of the Claimant. The
publication of the name or address/location of the Claimant or of any
member of the Claimant’s immediate family is prohibited.
8. The Claimant must serve a copy of this Order and of the Notice of
Application and the witness statement in support upon the Defendants
and otherwise comply with CPR Rule 23.9 within three days of service
of this Order upon them.
9. The Defendants may apply under CPR Rule 23.10 and CPR3.3(5) to
set aside or vary this Order within fourteen days of service of it upon
them.
10.Any non-party affected by this Order may apply on notice to all parties
to have this Order set aside or varied.
11.The Claimant has permission to apply to set aside or vary this order.
12. The Court will further consider the anonymity application at the first
hearing in this Claim
13.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 YXA.
14.Costs of the Application are reserved.
Further Reasons
Applications for anonymity need to be scrutinised, and I have therefore
scrutinised it, very carefully. However, it seems to me both that there is
reason on the material before me to make an anonymity order and that to
make one now, with provision that it will be reconsidered at the first
substantive hearing in the Claim, will not, even if my view then changes, be
that prejudicial to open justice, and especially where there are various
provisions enabling applications to be made by the Defendants (and the
Claimant) and non-parties in the meantime with the usual publication order.
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SERVICE OF THE ORDER
The Court has sent sealed copies of this order to:
Slater and Gordon (UK) Limited
58 Mosley Street
Manchester
M2 3HZ
Reference RSC01/UM1631870