In a recent decision, the High Court has ordered that documents provided to Tesco plc (“Tesco“) by the SFO for the purpose of negotiating a deferred prosecution agreement (“DPA“) must be disclosed by Tesco in the separate civil action relating to the same subject matter, brought by its shareholders under s.90A of the Financial Services … Read more
In a recent decision in the context of a judicial review, the High Court held that the SFO was able to compel a foreign company to produce documents located outside the jurisdiction, pursuant to s.2(3) of the Criminal Justice Act 1987 (CJA), where there was “a sufficient connection between the company and the jurisdiction”: R (On … Read more
The Court of Appeal has today handed down its eagerly awaited decision in the ENRC appeal: The Director of the Serious Fraud Office v Eurasian Natural Resources Corporation Ltd [2018] EWCA Civ 2006. At first instance, the High Court took a restrictive approach to both litigation privilege and legal advice privilege (see our summary of the decision here). … Read more
The High Court has found that documents prepared by the defendant in the course of an investigation into allegations by HMRC were protected by litigation privilege: Bilta (UK) Ltd (in liquidation) & ors v Royal Bank of Scotland Plc & anor [2017] EWHC 3535 (Ch). The decision arguably departs from the reasoning in the controversial decision in SFO … Read more
In a recent decision, the Technology and Construction Court granted defendants permission to adduce expert opinion evidence from a second expert, after their first expert had ceased to act, on the condition that the defendants disclose the first expert’s draft report. However, the defendants were not required to disclose their solicitors’ attendance notes of meetings … Read more
The recent case management decision in Harlequin Property (SVG) Ltd and Another v Wilkins Kennedy[2015] EWHC 3050 (TCC) considered an application by the Defendant to withhold documents from inspection on the basis of confidentiality. The documents in question fell into two categories, namely: (i) documents created in the course of an investigation into the Claimants by the … Read more
In a decision handed down earlier today, the High Court has upheld RBS’s claim to privilege over certain documents which the bank had been ordered to produce to the court for inspection: Property Alliance Group Limited v The Royal Bank of Scotland Plc [2015] EWHC 3187 (Ch). The decision confirms that the protection of legal advice privilege … Read more
The Supreme Court confirmed today that legal advice privilege (“LAP”) cannot be claimed in respect of confidential communications between accountants and their clients for the purpose of requesting or providing legal advice. LAP can be claimed only where such communications are between qualified solicitors, barristers or foreign lawyers (including in-house lawyers) and their clients: R (on … Read more
