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You are here: BAILII >> Databases >> England and Wales High Court (Chancery Division) Decisions >> Various Claimants v News Group Newspapers Ltd [2021] EWHC 1737 (Ch) (16 June 2021) URL: https://www.bailii.org/ew/cases/EWHC/Ch/2021/1737.html Cite as: [2021] EWHC 1737 (Ch) |
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BUSINESS AND PROPERTY COURTS OF ENGLAND AND WALES
BUSINESS LIST (ChD)
IN THE MATTER OF THE MOBILE TELEPHONE VOICEMAIL INTERCEPTION LITIGATION
7 Rolls Buildings Fetter Lane, London, EC4A 1NL |
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B e f o r e :
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Various Claimants |
Claimant |
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- and - |
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News Group Newspapers Ltd |
Defendant |
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David Sherborne, Sara Mansoori and Ben Hamer (instructed by Hamlins LLP) for the Defendant
Hearing date: 16th June 2021
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Crown Copyright ©
MR JUSTICE FANCOURT:
"The Defendant shall (a) within 14 days disclose ZA and ZC SAP payments, vendor names where different, and vendor address details for 1) Cruise Pictures and Lee Brookes and 2) the aliases listed in schedule A and B relating to alleged PIs for whom disclosure searches have previously been ordered".
"Maybe Cruise can tell us which flight he got on? Or we try blag it out of BA and Air Mauritius".
a. First, Regent Associates. Martin Young is shown to be not just a director but also a beneficial owner of that company, alongside Paul Hawkes, and there have been searches in the names of Regent Associates and Paul Hawkes. There is therefore close proximity and a reason to think that some of the company's earnings may well have been diverted to its beneficial owner. I approve the searches sought in relation to the names of Martin Young and Martin Tomlins Young.
b. Second, Paul Samrai. Both Mr and Mrs Samrai have been searched and have been identified in relation to over 100 payments in total. They are the only directors of Top Stories Ltd, though there is no evidence of beneficial ownership of that company. However, given the substantial number of payments to Mrs Samuai and the effective day-to-day control of the company and its money by the Samrais, I consider that there is sufficient reason shown, and I direct a search in the name of Top Stories Ltd.
c. Third, Andy Gadd. Mr Gadd and his company, Trackers Ltd, have been searched, and Info Rep Services Limited and Surf Web Ltd are said in evidence to be companies Mr Gadd used before he used Trackers. Info Rep is a successor company to Surf Web, or vice versa. There is no evidence that Trackers is a true successor company of either. Nevertheless, given the use clearly made by Mr Gadd of corporate vehicles, I consider that it is likely that these companies performed a similar function to Trackers at an earlier stage, and so I will order a search in their names. However, although Olivia Wheaton is a director and Mr Gadd's wife, there is nothing to suggest that payments would have been directed to her, given the use of corporate bodies by Mr Gadd. I therefore refuse a search in relation to Olivia Margaret Wheaton.
d. Fourth, Scott Tillon. The Claimants seek a search against the name Andy Tindall, on the basis that he is shown to have worked alongside Mr Tillon on one assignment and on the basis that Mr Thurlbeck regarded both of them as the best in the business for getting a photograph. That evidence is not sufficient to create a reason to suppose Mr Tillon's payments might have been diverted to Mr Tindall, or that Mr Tindall himself engaged in unlawful information gathering. I refuse that search application.
e. Fifth, Gerard Couzens. The Claimants seek searches against his Spanish company, Tag News Media; against a co-director of that company, Tom Warden; and against Mr Couzens' wife, Natalia Pensa, also a co-director of Tag News Media. This is all on the basis of a Spanish company search which provides very little information, other than the presence of those names as being connected with the company and also identifying Gerard Couzens Media Ltd as a related company. In my view, Gerard Couzens Media Ltd may well be expected to be an alter ego, so I will order a search against it and against Tag News Media as its likely successor, but the degree of connection is otherwise insufficient in the case of the two individuals.
f. Sixth, Steve Hampton. Given his centrality to some of the generic issues, any company controlled by him or another person acting for him is properly the subject of a search, but the two companies in issue here, Visage Investigation and Metropolitan Associates, are not shown to have any connection with Hampton, only with Peter Lyons, who is one of several directors of each of the companies, who was a business partner of Hampton at a different company, Starbase. But there is nothing to suggest that either company would be receiving payments otherwise due to Mr Hampton, and I refuse an order in their cases.
"The Defendant shall (a) search the SAP extract and within 35 days disclose the relevant SAP records of all News of the World cash payments with document dates between 1 June 2000 and 28 February 2003 whereis listed in the fields of the SAP record listed on page 2 of the letter of 29 November 2018 from Clifford Chance to Hamlins; (b) search the indices or tables underpinning Sun tabs 87 and 6470, and within 35 days disclose the relevant spreadsheet entries containing the word which have document dates for the earliest date given falling within the periods 1 January 2000 to 30 June 2000 and 1 February 2003 to 31 December 2007.
If there are more than 100 SAP rows which fall to be reviewed for confidential sources as a result of the searches carried out pursuant to either paragraph 3(a) or 3(b) which have an identifiable payee, then the entries after the first 100 may be disclosed redacted as if they are confidential sources, save that known journalists, freelancers, photographers, agencies and those entities on the MTVIL non-redaction list shall not be redacted".