Practice

The claimant Bangladeshi company had, until 2013, supplied garments to a number of major western retailers, including Primark. Following the collapse of a factory building in Bangladesh, in which one thousand people were killed, Primark and other retailers with manufacturing links to Bangladesh formed an accord (the accord) on fire and building safety in Bangladesh. Following concerns about the safety of the claimant’s factory, Primark withdrew its outstanding contracts with the claimant. The claimant brought a claim for damages for alleged defamatory statements published by Primark and the accord. The first and third defendants applied for the claim to be struck out as an abuse of process. The Queen’s Bench Division struck out the claim where there was no realistic prospect of a trial yielding any tangible or legitimate advantage such as to outweigh the disadvantages for the parties in terms of expense, and the wider public in terms of court resources.