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25 March 2022 / Fergus McCombie
Issue: 7972 / Categories: Features , Cyber
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Damages & distress: data protection leaks in court

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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

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NEWS
The Attorney General, Ellie Reeves KC MP, and Solicitor General, Andy Slaughter KC MP, marked the 25th anniversary of Pro Bono Week by joining lawyers, charities, students and parliamentarians at events celebrating voluntary legal work
Witness evidence can be compromised by AI before a solicitor sees the draft, leaving safeguards focused on authorship incomplete
Possession claims are entering a new digital era, with procedural traps awaiting practitioners who assume familiar rules still govern every step
A polished legal defence may owe more to artificial intelligence than legal merit—and creditors risk paying the price in delay and expense
An indemnity costs battle with a £20m gap could reopen an important question: what weight should an approved budget carry?
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