Grants Summary Judgment on ‘Fairness’ Data Protection Claim
The Court of Appeal (Sir Geoffrey Vos MR, with whom Warby and Whipple LJJ agreed) has allowed Dale Vince’s appeal against the strike-out and reverse summary judgment granted to Associated Newspapers by Swift J last year.
The case concerned an article where the headline referred to a Labour donor as being guilty of ‘sex harassment’ immediately above prominent photos of the claimant (who is a different Labour donor to the person in the headline, as the body text of the article made clear).
Vince had initially sued in defamation, but his libel claim was struck-out by HHJ Lewis (sitting as a Deputy High Court Judge) because his innuendo meaning breached the rule in Charleston, whereby a hypothetical reasonable reader is taken as a matter of law to have read the whole of the article. Permission to appeal was refused by Warby LJ.
Shortly before HHJ Lewis’ decision, Vince issued a second claim in data protection, complaining not of ‘inaccuracy’ (under the Fourth Principle) where the rule in Charleston has also been held to apply, but instead in ‘fairness’ (under the First Principle).
Associated Newspapers applied to strike-out for Henderson v Henderson abuse, and both sides applied for summary judgment. Swift J granted the defendant’s application, and Vince appealed with the permission of Warby LJ.
The Court of Appeal has now allowed the claimant’s appeal, and granted Dale Vince summary judgment on his data protection claim with damages to be assessed.
Aidan Eardley KC and Greg Callus acted for Dale Vince, instructed by Brett Wilson LLP.
Ben Gallop (led by Antony White of Matrix Chambers) acted for Associated Newspapers, instructed by RPC LLP.
A full case report will be published on the 5RB website shortly.
The Court of Appeal judgment and media summary can be read below.
