Litigation Notes

Court of Appeal finds regulator cannot demand production of client's privileged documents unless statute overrides privilege

In a judgment handed down this morning, the Court of Appeal has held that an audit client was not required to hand over its privileged documents in …

Court of Appeal confirms instructions to law firm relating to escrow monies were privileged

The Court of Appeal has upheld a High Court decision which rejected an application for disclosure of documents containing a client's instructions to its …

Court of Appeal finds legal advice privilege is subject to a "dominant purpose" test

In a decision handed down earlier this week, the Court of Appeal has found that legal advice privilege (LAP) is subject to a "dominant purpose" test, ie …

No collateral waiver where party relied on the effect of legal advice rather than its content

High Court finds privilege not lost despite document being referred to in open court

Court of Appeal confirms "once privileged, always privileged" unless privilege is waived - even if there is no longer anyone who can assert the privilege

The Court of Appeal has confirmed that the documents of a dissolved company remain privileged, regardless of whether there is anyone who can assert the …

Privilege: a reminder of the dangers of cherry picking

High Court considers application of much-criticised exception to without prejudice rule

The High Court has held that the content of "without prejudice" ("WP") communications between the parties to the proceedings was inadmissible, though the …

High Court restrains claimants from using defendant's privileged material obtained from third parties in unknown circumstances

A recent High Court decision demonstrates that, whilst confidentiality is a prerequisite to a claim for privilege, information will not cease to be …

High Court upholds claim to privilege in respect of underlying instructions to law firm relating to escrow monies

The High Court has rejected an application for disclosure of documents containing the underlying instructions to a law firm acting for a party funding a …

Privilege no defence to notice requiring production of client's privileged documents to regulator

The High Court has held that an audit client could not withhold documents on grounds of privilege when responding to a notice requiring the production of …

Two recent decisions consider application of principle of limited waiver of privilege

In two recent decisions, the High Court has considered the extent to which a party can provide privileged documents to a third party for a particular …