Commercial Union Assurance Co plc v Mander: QBD 1996

Moore-Bick J provided the following example: ‘Although in many cases a relationship between two parties which supports common interest privilege will be one which also gives each of them a right to obtain disclosure of confidential documents relating to the matter in which they are both interested, one can readily think of situations in which that would not be so. Take the example given by Donaldson LJ in Buttes v Hammer (No 3) of tenants in a block of flats. One tenant, acting entirely for his own benefit, obtains legal advice concerning a dispute with the landlord over a provision in the lease which affects other tenants in a similar way. If he chooses to give a copy of the document containing that advice in confidence to another tenant who is willing to cooperate with him in pursuing a claim their common interest would be sufficient for the document to remain privileged in the latter’s hands. I do not, however, see any basis upon which the second tenant could have insisted on seeing the advice if the first tenant did not wish to show it to him, even though they had a common interest in the subject matter. Both as a matter of principle and authority . . it is not enough that the person seeking disclosure of confidential documents can show that he has an interest in the subject matter which would be sufficient to give rise to common interest privilege if the documents had been disclosed to him; he must be able to establish a right to obtain access to them by reason of a common interest in their subject matter which existed at the time the advice was sought or the documents were obtained.’
Moore-Bick J
[1996] 2 Lloyds Rep 640
England and Wales
Cited by:
CitedJames-Bowen and Others v Commissioner of Police of The Metropolis SC 25-Jul-2018
The Court was asked whether the Commissioner of Police of the Metropolis (‘the Commissioner’) owes a duty to her officers, in the conduct of proceedings against her based on their alleged misconduct, to take reasonable care to protect them from . .

Lists of cited by and citing cases may be incomplete.
Updated: 09 August 2021; Ref: scu.666495