header-logo header-logo

Damages & distress: data protection leaks in court

25 March 2022 / Fergus McCombie
Issue: 7972 / Categories: Features , Cyber
printer mail-detail
75716
The UK courts have been exploring the limits of litigation brought by or on behalf of data subjects where there has been unlawful transmission or disclosure of personal data: Fergus McCombie of 36 Commercial surveys the state of play
  • The UK courts have shown a willingness to analyse damages and procedural matters in low-level data protection claims along traditional English law lines.
  • There are challenges to that approach where there has been mere loss of control of personal data.
  • This article considers cases of deliberate or inadvertent access gained by third parties, other than the controller or data subject, to personal data.

In Warren v DSG Retail Ltd [2021] EWHC 2168 (QB), Saini J considered a claim of low value brought against Dixons Carphone (DSG) arising from a cyber attack, perpetrated in 2018, by which the attackers gained credit card and other personal data. The Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) had already issued a monetary penalty notice in the sum of £500,000. A private claim was brought by

If you are not a subscriber, subscribe now to read this content
If you are already a subscriber sign in
...or Register for two weeks' free access to subscriber content

MOVERS & SHAKERS

Birketts—trainee cohort

Birketts—trainee cohort

Firm welcomes new cohort of 29 trainee solicitors for 2025

Keoghs—four appointments

Keoghs—four appointments

Four partner hires expand legal expertise in Scotland and Northern Ireland

Brabners—Ben Lamb

Brabners—Ben Lamb

Real estate team in Yorkshire welcomes new partner

NEWS
Robert Taylor of 360 Law Services warns in this week's NLJ that adoption of artificial intelligence (AI) risks entrenching disadvantage for SME law firms, unless tools are tailored to their needs
From oligarchs to cosmetic clinics, strategic lawsuits against public participation (SLAPPs) target journalists, activists and ordinary citizens with intimidating legal tactics. Writing in NLJ this week, Sadie Whittam of Lancaster University explores the weaponisation of litigation to silence critics
Delays and dysfunction continue to mount in the county court, as revealed in a scathing Justice Committee report and under discussion this week by NLJ columnist Professor Dominic Regan of City Law School. Bulk claims—especially from private parking firms—are overwhelming the system, with 8,000 cases filed weekly
Writing in NLJ this week, Thomas Rothwell and Kavish Shah of Falcon Chambers unpack the surprise inclusion of a ban on upwards-only rent reviews in the English Devolution and Community Empowerment Bill
Charles Pigott of Mills & Reeve charts the turbulent progress of the Employment Rights Bill through the House of Lords, in this week's NLJ
back-to-top-scroll