W v JH and Another: QBD 5 Mar 2008

The claimant had been an employee of the defendant council. A complaint had been made about his conduct in 1993 and 1994. A disciplinary hearing had been held and the claimant was issued with a final warning to be placed on his file. The notification letter stated that this would be reviewed for removal after a period of 18 months. The claimant left employment with the defendant and some 10 years later, in 2005, found work with a university. A current employee of the council, acting on her own initiative, but happening to know of the complaints that had been made in 1994 and 1995 against the claimant, notified the university about them. The claimant sued and the defence was qualified privilege.
Held: The application for summary judgment to CPR Part 24 was dismissed.

Judges:

Tugendhat J

Citations:

[2008] EWHC 399 (QB)

Links:

Bailii

Jurisdiction:

England and Wales

Cited by:

CitedClift v Slough Borough Council and Another QBD 6-Jul-2009
The claimant sought damages for defamation. The council had decided that she had threatened a member of staff and notified various people, and entered her name on a violent persons register. She alleged malice, the council pleaded justification and . .
Lists of cited by and citing cases may be incomplete.

Defamation

Updated: 07 July 2022; Ref: scu.266530