Ms L Campbell v Orchid Field Marketing Limited; and 2 others — 2019

At a preliminary hearing in Bury St Edmunds on 19 February 2019, Employment Judge Cassel, sitting alone, dealt with admissibility issues in a case where Ms L Campbell had brought unfair dismissal and Equality Act claims against Orchid Field Marketing Limited and others. The judgment did not determine the merits of those claims. It recorded that the final hearing remained listed for 26 April 2019 to 7 May 2019 and that the immediate issue was whether an email dated 14 November 2017 could be admitted in evidence.

The judge accepted that paragraph (a) of the email was ordinary legal advice and remained privileged. In relation to paragraph (b), he considered the wording that proposed an appeal be managed so that a further complaint about David Skinner's direct management style would strengthen the respondent's case on the discrimination allegation and lead to the conclusion that there was no discrimination case to answer. Applying the iniquity exception to legal advice privilege, and referring to X v Y Ltd and Barclays Bank Plc v Eustice, the judge found a strong prima facie case of iniquity and held that paragraph (b) was admissible in evidence. The email had been sent to the claimant in error and withdrawn within two hours.