Vicarious liability for misuse of private information

Table of contents

• Original news
• What was the background to the case?
• What did the court have to decide?
• What did the court say about legitimate expectation of privacy?
• What other issues did the court give obiter comments upon?
• What should privacy lawyers take from this decision?

Article summary

IP & IT analysis: Jonathan Barnes, barrister at 5RB, examines in detail the recent High Court decision in Axon v Ministry of Defence and its implications for privacy claims arising from unauthorised disclosure to the media, as well as for vicarious liability and limitation. The judgment is also illustrative of the situation where those in (quasi) public roles are likely to find it difficult to establish a reasonable expectation of privacy in respect of misconduct committed in those roles.