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Farley v Paymaster: High Court refuses data breach compensation without proof letters were opened; 'near miss' not misuse; loss of control alone insufficient (England and Wales)

Published on: 04 March 2024

Published by a LexisNexis Information Law expert
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Farley (formerly CR) and others v Paymaster (1836) Ltd [2024] EWHC 383 (KB)

What are the practical implications of this case?

The court’s move to strike out a large tranche of claims underscores how hard it is to surmount the stringent evidential thresholds in data breach litigation. Claimants must prove tangible loss, and cannot simply lean on inference—no matter how compelling—or on the fact of distress alone. The onus remains with the claimant to establish that an unauthorised third party actually accessed the personal data.

  • Conduct that does not lead to unauthorised access is treated differently by regulators than by the civil courts.
  • For instance, if documents with personal data are mistakenly left on public transport, a regulator might act over security failings, yet a civil claim may falter if the papers were swiftly recovered and not read by anyone.

The judgment also serves as a warning to those defending such claims, emphasising the value of routine upkeep and human oversight when running internal databases. Although in this case the personal data...

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