Jurisdiction(s):
United Kingdom

IPEC (England and Wales): Client lists protected as confidential information; passing off by ex-employee; top-down damages and adverse inferences for evidence destruction in PSN Recruitment v Ludley

Published on: 27 February 2024

Published by a LexisNexis IP expert

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Article summary

PSN Recruitment Ltd (trading as Cosmopolitan) v Ludley and Greenscape Specialist Recruitment Ltd [2023] EWHC 3153 (IPEC))

What are the practical implications of this case?

This judgment strengthens established principles on confidentiality and the law of confidence, and clarifies how protected confidential material should be assessed and categorised. Whilst it cannot be presumed that any client database is automatically confidential, a significant line of authority indicates that lists containing active and target client contact details typically satisfy the requirements for confidence, and this ruling now further endorses that stance. The decision also highlights the need for parties to provide full cooperation to the court and to avoid obstructive conduct, reflected both in the approach to the damages award and, more broadly, in Her Honour Judge Clarke’s remarks on the defendant’s behaviour and conduct throughout. In particular, Ludley’s destruction of evidence and his breach of the duty owed to the court to preserve documents relevant to the proceedings were viewed in a markedly negative light.

What was the background?

The claimant (Cosmopolitan), a recruitment agency specialising in gardening services, issued claims for breach of confidence and passing off...

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