The Honourable Mr Justice Nicklin :
This judgment deals with an application by the Claimant seeking the anonymisation of the parties in this litigation and corresponding reporting restrictions preventing the parties being identified (“the Anonymity Application”).
For reasons that are explained in a judgment handed down in private today, I have refused the Anonymity Application. In the ordinary way, that would lead to the publication of the judgment and the identification of the parties. However, the Claimant has sought permission to appeal. I have refused that application, as I do not consider that the proposed grounds of appeal have a real prospect of success and there is no other compelling reason why permission to appeal ought to be granted. The Claimant can renew his application for permission to appeal to the Court of Appeal. To preserve the position, pending any renewed application, the ring must be held. That means that my judgment refusing the Anonymity Application must remain private until such time as any appeal has been finally resolved. This shortened public judgment is to ensure that the Court explains as much about the Anonymity Application as is possible in the interests of open justice whilst ensuring that position is preserved pending any appeal.
I was strictly satisfied that the hearing on 14 July 2022 had to be heard in private. I explained my reasons at the hearing, but in summary, a public hearing would have immediately defeated the Anonymity Application mainly as a result of pre-existing media coverage.
A: The Parties
The Defendant is an NHS Trust that provides hospital and community healthcare in an area of the UK.
The Claimant is a doctor. He was employed by the Defendant.
B: Background to the dispute
The Defendant wishes to make limited disclosure of certain documents relating to the Claimant to a defined class of people (“the Confidential Information”). It notified the Claimant of its intention to do so in early May 2022. The Claimant has objected to this proposed disclosure.
C: The claim
The Claimant has commenced this civil claim seeking an injunction to prevent the proposed disclosure of the Confidential Information. The Claim Form seeks “ a declaration and injunction against the Defendant to prevent a breach of contract, breach of Data Protection Act 2018/GDPR, breach of confidence, misuses (sic) of private information and breach of Article 8. ”
The Defendant agreed that it would not make any disclosure pending the
