PT-2025-000706 - [2025] EWHC 2928 (Ch)

The claimants are trustees of a trust fund (the Trust). In these proceedings they seek authorisation under section 48 of the Administration of Justice Act 1985 to administer the Trust in reliance on the opinion of Leading Counsel dated 5 June 2025 (the Opinion). The Opinion concludes that a child, in particular delicate circumstances (the Child), falls within the beneficial class of the Trust. The other members of the beneficial class are all adults.

The claimants issued these proceedings on 10 July 2025 without naming any defendant. The claim form and the first witness statement of James Lister of Stevens & Bolton LLP, solicitors for the claimants, dated 2 July 2025 filed in support referred to the subject matter of the claim being sensitive and to the wish of the claimants that the fact of the claim, information about the particular delicate circumstances and information about the Trust should not be divulged in a way which might trespass on the manner in which relevant information might be shared with any members of the beneficial class in future. The Court was invited to proceed without a hearing, alternatively to allow the claimants the opportunity to apply for a suitable privacy regime. The court file was marked “SECURE”, as an administrative matter, without any reference to a Judge or Master, with the effect that no third party might access any documents on the file.

Shortly thereafter the file was referred to me for review and I directed as follows:

“It is not appropriate for this matter to be dealt with without a hearing. I am prepared to consider a formal application for the hearing to be held in private and for a suitable privacy regime to apply to the case; that application will need to be supported by evidence.”

The claimants issued an application on 23 July 2025 by which they sought orders that:

That application was supported by the second witness statement of Mr Lister dated 22 July 2025 which invited the court to determine the application on the papers and, if the application were not granted in full, to make an interim order until the hearing of the claim. The witness statement referred again to the sensitive subject matter of the claim and the protection of the interests of all members of the beneficial class. Particular reliance was placed on the fact that certain steps previously taken in respect of the circumstances underlying the claim were taken in private.

Deputy Master Jefferis dealt with the application without a hearing and on 30 July 2025 ordered: