Litigation Privilege

The recent Court of Appeal decision in WH Holding Ltd v E20 Stadium LLP  EWCA Civ 2652 (outlined here) found that litigation privilege applies only to documents created for the dominant purpose of obtaining advice or information/evidence in relation to litigation, and not the conduct of litigation more broadly. As a result, the privilege did not apply to emails between a company’s Board members which had been prepared to discuss a commercial proposal for the settlement of a dispute.

The decision causes real practical difficulties for commercial parties, exposing an awkward gap in the protection afforded to documents prepared for the purpose of settling a dispute.