Case library

Reported decisions we are asked about most often, with the evidence sources that decided them and the outcome. Fees for an exercise of this kind are assessed case by case. For crypto specific authorities, see the crypto case library.

1. 2022 · Extended disclosure, failed search process

   Cabo Concepts Ltd v MGA Entertainment (UK) Ltd

   [2022] EWHC 2024 (Pat)

   A disclosure exercise produced around 800,000 documents, then a technical failure in the search and collection process came to light after the defendant had certified disclosure.

   The trial date was vacated and the defendant was ordered to pay the wasted costs on the indemnity basis. The case is cited whenever a party cannot evidence how its search was run.

   Evidence sources

   Custodian mailboxes, Shared drives, Search term reports

   Worked case of this type →
2. 2020 · Disclosure models and the list of issues

   McParland & Partners Ltd v Whitehead

   [2020] EWHC 298 (Ch)

   The parties fell out over the issues for disclosure and which model applied to each of them, generating substantial argument before any documents were exchanged.

   The Chancellor set out how issues for disclosure should be framed and warned against treating the exercise as a battleground. The leading guidance on model selection under the disclosure pilot, now PD 57AD.

   Evidence sources

   Email, Contractual documents

   Worked case of this type →
3. 2021 · Employment tribunal, message and social media evidence

   Forstater v Center for Global Development Europe

   [2021] UKEAT 0105_20_1006

   A consultant's contract was not renewed after colleagues complained about her posts. The evidence was largely short form messages and internal complaints threads.

   The Employment Appeal Tribunal held the belief was protected, and the case turned on the precise wording and context of individual messages, which is why message threads must be collected whole rather than screenshotted.

   Evidence sources

   Tweets, Internal email, Slack messages

   Worked case of this type →
4. 2021 · Disclosure of electronic project records

   Trant Engineering Ltd v Mott MacDonald Ltd

   [2021] EWHC 2506 (TCC)

   A construction dispute where the parties argued over the extent of searches across project email and design management systems.

   The court preferred a proportionate, issue-led search over a sweep of everything, reinforcing that scope is argued with volumes and costs rather than assertion.

   Evidence sources

   Project email, Design records, Shared systems

   Worked case of this type →
5. 2018 · Payment fraud, tracing and third party disclosure

   CMOC Sales & Marketing Ltd v Persons Unknown

   [2018] EWHC 2230 (Comm)

   A company was defrauded of tens of millions through spoofed payment instructions, with the funds dispersed through many accounts in several jurisdictions.

   Worldwide freezing relief and disclosure orders against banks, with service by email permitted. The first English trial in which judgment was given against persons unknown following a cyber-enabled fraud.

   Evidence sources

   Banking records, Email headers, Company records

   Worked case of this type →
6. 2020 · Insider data theft, vicarious liability

   Various Claimants v WM Morrison Supermarkets plc

   [2020] UKSC 12

   An aggrieved internal auditor copied payroll data for around 100,000 staff and published it. The forensic record of what he accessed and copied was central to the claim.

   The Supreme Court held the employer was not vicariously liable, because the employee was pursuing a personal vendetta. Access and exfiltration logs decided what actually happened.

   Evidence sources

   Payroll data, Internal audit logs, Employee devices

   Worked case of this type →
7. 2014 · Departing employees, database misuse

   Warm Zones v Thurley

   [2014] EWHC 988 (QB)

   Former employees were alleged to have taken customer data to a competitor. Device and access evidence was gathered to support an injunction.

   Injunctive relief and delivery up granted, with the forensic record of copying central to the springboard argument. Still the shape of most departing team applications.

   Evidence sources

   Company database exports, Email, USB device history

   Worked case of this type →
8. 2018 · Regulatory information notice, privilege

   Competition and Markets Authority v Concordia International

   [2018] EWHC 3448 (Ch)

   A company resisted parts of a CMA investigatory notice on privilege grounds, requiring the court to consider the boundary between the regulator's powers and legal professional privilege.

   The court upheld the regulator's approach to the disputed material, confirming that privilege must be claimed precisely and logged, not asserted broadly.

   Evidence sources

   Email, Corporate records, Legal advice

   Worked case of this type →
9. 2018 onwards · Public inquiry, disclosure and restriction orders

   R (on the application of Mazur) v the Undercover Policing Inquiry

   administrative decisions, 2018 onwards

   Inquiry disclosure spanning decades of material held in legacy systems and paper, with extensive applications about restriction and anonymity.

   The disclosure process has repeatedly turned on evidenced explanations of what could be recovered from legacy systems and what could not, and on redaction at scale.

   Evidence sources

   Legacy police records, Paper archives, Historic email

   Worked case of this type →
10. 2019 · Crypto assets, proprietary injunction

    AA v Persons Unknown

    [2019] EWHC 3556 (Comm)

    An insurer paid a Bitcoin ransom after a ransomware attack. Tracing followed the coins to an address held at a UK-linked exchange.

    The court held cryptocurrency is property capable of being the subject of a proprietary injunction. The starting point for every later English crypto claim.

    Evidence sources

    On-chain transactions, Exchange records, Insurer payment records

    Worked crypto case →