Ian Abbott v The Information Commissioner
[2024] UKFTT 478 (GRC)
David Emanuel Merton Mond v Insolvency Practitioners Association
1 December 2022
[2023] EWHC 477 (Ch)
High Court
A guy disclosed secret lawyer stuff to win an appeal about his unfair trial. He then argued that the other side couldn't use that secret stuff in a re-trial. A judge said there's a good chance he's right, so the case will go to a full hearing.
Key Facts
- •Mr. Mond, an insolvency practitioner, faced disciplinary proceedings by the IPA for conduct related to IVAs.
- •The IPA's Disciplinary Committee (DC) imposed sanctions, including a substantial fine.
- •Mr. Mond appealed, introducing a preliminary ground alleging a conflict of interest by his previous counsel.
- •To support this appeal, Mr. Mond disclosed privileged material, expressly limiting the waiver to the appeal.
- •The Appeals Committee (AC) allowed the appeal, remitting the case to a new DC panel.
- •Mr. Mond claimed the IPA could not use the disclosed privileged material in the remitted hearing.
- •The IPA applied for summary judgment, arguing Mr. Mond had waived privilege.
- •The court heard the summary judgment application in private due to the sensitive nature of the privileged material.
Legal Principles
Limited waiver of privilege: The court should assess whether the disclosing party's conduct is consistent with maintaining confidentiality.
Scottish Lion Insurance Co Ltd v Goodrich Corporation [2011] SC 534
Limited waiver: Subjective intention is not determinative; the objective analysis of conduct is key.
Scottish Lion Insurance Co Ltd v Goodrich Corporation [2011] SC 534
Limited waiver: Waiver in one stage of a 'unitary process' may be waiver for the whole process.
Scottish Lion Insurance Co Ltd v Goodrich Corporation [2011] SC 534
Limited waiver: Express limits of waiver should be honored unless a countervailing legal principle trumps it.
B v Auckland District Law Society [2003] 2 AC 736
In express waiver cases, the terms of the intended waiver are usually clear, allowing for summary judgment in clear cases.
Easyair Ltd v Opal Telecom Ltd [2009] EWHC 339 (Ch)
Deploying privileged material for a litigation advantage at an interlocutory stage may waive privilege at trial.
Berezovsky v Abramovich [2011] EWHC 1143 (Comm)
Disclosure of privileged material at an interlocutory stage for a purpose unrelated to the merits doesn't necessarily waive privilege more broadly.
Property Alliance Group Ltd v Royal Bank of Scotland plc [2015] EWHC 3272 (Ch)
Deliberate disclosure of information to an opponent, even for an interlocutory purpose, can lead to loss of privilege.
Pickett v Balkind [2022] 4 WLR 88
Outcomes
The IPA's summary judgment application was dismissed.
The court found that Mr. Mond had a real prospect of success in arguing that his waiver of privilege was limited to the appeal and did not extend to the remitted hearing. The court also found there was a practical utility in granting the declarations sought.