Injunction against the Sunday People - A -V- B & Another

A -V- B & Another [2002] EWCA Civ 337 – Court of Appeal (Civil Division) – Lord Woolf CJ, Laws LJ, Dyson LJ – 11/3/2002

Issue

Whether the judge was right to grant an interim injunction in his fourth judgment or whether this was an unjustified interference with the freedom of the Press.

A is a footballer with a premier division club and is married with two children. B is an national newspaper (the Sunday People) which intended to publish stories about A's extra marital affairs with C and D. C and D had sold their story to B and on an application by A, the court granted an interim injunction preventing B from printing the stories. B appealed against this judgment.

The Court of Appeal had to balance the right to freedom of expression of the Press with A's right to privacy. It took into consideration such matters as whether A would be likely to succeed in his application for an injunction at trial, whether there was any justification for the Court's interfering with the freedom of the press, whether there would be any breach of confidentiality by the Press in publishing the stories, and any overriding public interest in their publication.

The Court held that A was unlikely to succeed at trial and that the injunction should not have been granted. The interference by the Court with the freedom of the Press was not justified because no special public interest in the stories could be identified.

The degree of confidentiality to which A was entitled depended on the sort of relationship involved: the Court distinguished between the level of confidentiality which attaches to a "permanent" relationship such as marriage, and that which attaches to the type of relationship which A had with C and D.

The court did not go so far as to say there can be no confidentiality where one party to a relationship has revealed, or intends to reveal, details of that relationship to others; it did state, however, that the fact that C and D had chosen to disclose their relationships to B did affect A's right to confidentiality, as C and D's own right to freedom of expression had to be taken into account. Public figures are entitled to privacy but have to recognise that their public position means that their actions will be subjected to close scrutiny by the media.

The injunction was set aside, allowing the Sunday People to publish the stories by the two women about their affairs with Garry Flitcroft of Blackburn Rovers.

For further information, please contact Tim Hardy at mailto:tim.hardy@cms-cmck.com or on +44 (0)20 7367 2533.