Mrs S Cook v Turning Point and 2 others — 2023

This was a preliminary hearing judgment dealing with strike-out and deposit applications. The tribunal refused the claimant's application to strike out the respondents' responses, finding that alleged errors and correspondence about bundles, lists of issues and costs did not meet the threshold for scandalous, unreasonable or vexatious conduct, and that a fair trial would in any event remain possible.

The tribunal refused to strike out the claimant's protected disclosure detriment complaint, but found it had little reasonable prospects of success. It considered that the alleged disclosures appeared largely general, lacking specificity, and related substantially to the claimant's own position, although it was not inconceivable that witness evidence might support an arguable public interest element concerning service users.

The tribunal also refused to strike out the victimisation complaint, but found it had little reasonable prospects of success. The alleged protected acts did not expressly refer to discrimination or connect the words used to disability, though the tribunal considered the claimant's alleged statement that she was preparing a grievance might arguably fall within section 27 if the respondents believed she may do a protected act. The tribunal left limitation issues to the final hearing, subject to payment of the deposit orders.