P (a child) (Extended Civil Restraint Order – abusive applicant), Re
[2023] EWFC 110 (B)
Kunle Abayomi v CIFAS
29 November 2024
[2024] EWHC 3060 (KB)
High Court
Mr. Abayomi sued King's College London and CIFAS multiple times, losing every time. The judge said his lawsuits were pointless and he was behaving badly. To stop him from suing again, the judge gave him a three-year ban on filing new lawsuits without permission.
Key Facts
- •Kunle Abayomi, representing himself, brought multiple claims against King's College London (KCL) and CIFAS.
- •Claims against KCL stemmed from a Master's program, alleging inadequate supervision and data breaches.
- •The CIFAS claim involved a National Fraud Database (NFD) entry related to chargeback claims made by Mr. Abayomi.
- •Mr. Abayomi failed to attend the November 20, 2024 hearing.
- •Multiple applications by Mr. Abayomi were deemed totally without merit.
- •The court considered applications for civil restraint orders (CROs).
Legal Principles
CPR 23.11(1): Court may proceed in a party's absence if they fail to attend a hearing.
CPR 23.11(1)
Overriding objective: Court proceedings should be dealt with justly.
CPR overriding objective
Test for striking out a statement of case: Discloses no reasonable grounds, abuse of process, or failure to comply with rules.
CPR 3.4(2)
Test for granting permission to appeal: Real prospect of success or other compelling reason.
CPR 52.6(1)
Defamation Act 2013, sections 2 and 3: Defences of truth and honest opinion.
Defamation Act 2013
UK GDPR, Article 5 and 6: Principles of lawful, fair, and transparent processing of personal data; legitimate interests as a lawful basis for processing.
UK GDPR
Civil restraint orders: Limited, extended, or general orders to prevent vexatious litigation; threshold of repeated or persistent totally without merit claims/applications.
CPR 3.11, Practice Direction 3C
Indemnity costs: Awarded where conduct of a party falls outside the ordinary and reasonable conduct of proceedings.
Digicel (St Lucia) Ltd v Cable & Wireless plc [2010] EWHC 888 (Ch)
Outcomes
Appeals KA-2023-000165 and KA-2024-000016 automatically struck out due to non-compliance with filing deadlines.
Failure to file appeal bundles and applications for extensions of time.
Permission to appeal in KA-2024-000099 refused for most orders; one element adjourned.
Lack of merit in grounds of appeal; one element left outstanding pending transcript.
CIFAS claim struck out; judgment for CIFAS; claim certified as totally without merit.
Claim disclosed no reasonable grounds; underlying facts demonstrated dishonesty; defences of truth and honest opinion (defamation) and lawful processing (GDPR) would succeed.
General Civil Restraint Order (GCRO) granted for three years.
Persistent pursuit of totally without merit claims and applications; inappropriate and threatening communications; abuse of court process; need to protect court resources and other parties.
KCL awarded reduced costs.
Successful party; some claimed costs deemed unreasonable.
CIFAS awarded costs on an indemnity basis, subject to detailed assessment.
Successful party; claim weak; vexatious litigation; inappropriate and threatening communications.