Law firm Taylor Wessing has successfully claimed legal professional privilege to defeat a data protection request relating to a trust fund in the Bahamas.
In Dawson-Damer & Ors v Taylor Wessing [2015] EWHC 2366 (Ch) Ashley Dawson-Damer and her children Piers and Adelicia requested access to all the data held about them by Taylor Wessing. The firm refused. It is the London solicitors for the Grampian Trust Company Ltd, the sole trustee of a multi-million dollar fund governed by the law of the Bahamas.
Ashley, the wife of one of the beneficiaries, is bringing separate proceedings against Grampian in the Supreme Court in the Bahamas.
Taylor Wessing’s arguments included that it would be disproportionate and unreasonable to expect them to carry out a search dating back more than 30 years to determine which documents were privileged. They were offered only a £30 fee.