LONDON (Within the Law) - A High Court Judge has denied an application from ENRC and Diligence to strike out parts of a surveillance case brought by Dechert Partner Neil Gerrard.
Gerrard has filed harassment claims against the two firms. The two parties had filed strike out claims in the high court. However, Richard Spearman QC ruled that he is unwilling to strike the claims out at this point.
However, he made it clear in his ruling he was not making any judgement on the validity of the claim, but simply assessing whether Gerrard's case has a reasonable chance of success.
The harassment case is part of a long running dispute between Gerrard and ENRC. He and his wife brought the claim against surveillance company Diligence accusing it of installing hidden cameras on his property and following him on a holiday to a private island in St Lucia. The claim states Diligence used a combination of both video and physical surveillance.
Although Spearman has allowed the claim to continue, he did say that the case did not make much sense in 'purely commercial terms'. The Gerrards are claiming £100,000 in damages, but costs are likely to surpass £4million. He said that, while the court would have some powers around costs, resolution of the despite 'ultimately lies in the hands of the interested parties'.
Spearman has also allowed Gerrard to amend the particulars of the claim and says he will make a determination on costs later.
Throughout this case ENRC and Diligence have attempted to strike out certain elements before any further costs are incurred.
Gerrard had earlier tried to put this case on hold because it overlapped with his ongoing dispute with ENRC in the High Court. The court threw the application out over insufficient evidence and ordered Gerrard to pay Diligence and ENRC costs totaling £91,195.20.
A spokesperson for the ENRC said: “Today's judgment was not to make any substantive, final ruling on any of the groundless claims made by the Gerrards. If the claims are ultimately permitted to progress to trial, we are confident that they will be dismissed when tested under cross-examination. We agree with the Judge's concerns about the staggering costs - over £4m - involved in litigating this claim. The Gerrards' claims which are being funded by Dechert are for damages amounting to only £100,000. The Judge was right to observe that this makes no commercial sense.”
Neil Gerrard, a partner at Dechert who is set to retire at the end of 2020, is being sued by ENRC over the alleged leaking of confidential documents to the Serious Fraud Office and the press. Gerrard denies these allegations and a blockbuster trial is set for the summer of 2021.
(Written by Tom Cropper, edited by Michael O'Sullivan)