Jurisdiction(s):
United Kingdom

Hussain v Rahman: EWHC rejects broad-brush misuse and harassment claims; anonymous threats not attributed; privacy recognised but familial disclosure not misuse; COVID, not duress, explained litigation withdrawal

Published on: 09 February 2024

Published by a LexisNexis Information Law expert

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Article summary

Misuse of private information claim based on broadbrush allegations fails (Hussain & others v Rahman & others) Hussain and others v Rahman and others [2024] EWHC 116 (KB)

What are the practical implications of this case?

An appraisal of the evidence led the court to determine that the second claimant’s choice to halt the third claimant’s proceedings against the defendants arose from the pressures of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic and his health anxieties in March 2020, decisively dismissing the claimants’ contention that intimidation by the defendants prompted the abandonment of the action. The court reaffirmed adherence to the approach articulated in Murray v Express Newspapers plc [2009] Ch 481 when assessing whether private information has been misused. On these facts, the court concluded that the first claimant—a young woman from a traditional Muslim household who had sought to shield her social activities from the relatively illiberal strictures of family expectation—had a reasonable expectation of privacy over photographs depicting her dressed in Western clothing and embracing a non-Muslim boyfriend. Accordingly, while the broadbrush allegations of misuse failed, the analysis recognised the claimant’s privacy interests, applying established principles to the context and rejecting speculative assertions not borne out by contemporaneous circumstances...

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