Quadcast Live - Motorola v Hytera: Lifting the WP Veil?

OVERVIEW

There has been a series of recent cases examining the precise bounds of the Unilever exceptions to without prejudice privilege. On 11th January 2021 the Court of Appeal allowed an appeal from the decision of Jacobs J in Motorola v Hytera finding that threats to rearrange assets so as to make enforcement of a judgment more difficult did not amount to ‘unambiguous impropriety’. On 19th November 2020 Miles J found that the ‘independent fact’ exception was not engaged in Kings Security Systems v King; and on 18th February 2021 Andrew Lenon KC hearing the trial of the same action, found that rejection of an offer from a joint wrongdoer was irrelevant to questions of mitigation as a matter of law. 
 
On 4th March, the Quadcast team looked at the present extent of ‘without prejudice’ privilege and asked whether it is being eroded by an increased willingness of Judges to allow a party to engage exceptions at the interim stage.