Practice

Applicant funding unsuccessful defamation action - claimant seeking to appeal alleging abuse of process against defendant - applicant not entitled to be joined in proceedingsHamilton v Al Fayed: CA (Lord Phillips of Worth Matravers MR and Sedley LJ): 5 October 2000

The claimant brought an unsuccessful libel action against the defendant, who was awarded costs.

The claimant was funded by several supporters, including the applicant who contributed 100,000 to the costs of the litigation.

The claimant did not satisfy the order for costs, but applied for permission to appeal alleging abuse of process by the defendant in the conduct of the proceedings.

At a hearing for directions the applicant sought to be joined to the substantive proceedings on the ground, among other things, that the substance of the dispute on appeal was a matter which might be relevant to the question of whether the applicant should be ordered to pay the defendant's costs, and unless the applicant were joined he was liable to be bound by the findings of the trial judge in relation to the defendant's conduct and therefore potentially prejudiced.

Andrew Hochhauser QC and John Wardell (instructed by Forsters) for the applicant.

James Price QC and Heather Rogers (instructed by DJ Freeman) for the defendant.

Edmund Lawson QC and Thomas Lowe (instructed by Crockers Oswald Hickson) for the claimant.

Held, refusing the application, that anyone who funded litigation by another party exposed himself to the risk of financial prejudice as a result of the substantive proceedings; that if that risk entitled a funder to be joined as a party to the substantive hearing the consequence would be that anyone could buy a part in litigation simply by funding it; that such a consequence would be thoroughly undesirable; and that, accordingly, joinder would be refused.