U - Unknown defendants
29/11/23
WOLVERHAMPTON CITY COUNCIL v LONDON GYPSIES AND TRAVELLERS [2023] UKSC 47
The court has power to grant an interim or final injunction against newcomers who are persons unknown when the injunction is granted. The injunction binds anyone with notice of it even if the applicant had no cause of action against them when the injunction was granted. The court is likely to require the applicant to demonstrate a compelling need for the protection of civil or public law rights not adequately met by other remedies. Procedural protections include advertisement of the intended application, liberty to affected persons to apply to vary the order, and disclosure by the applicant of any matters which affected persons might wish to raise.
23/10/17
CMOC v PERSONS UNKNOWN [2017] EWHC 3599 (Comm)
In principle a worldwide freezing injunction can be made against persons unknown, especially in fraud litigation where the first object is to notify a bank of the freezing injunction so that an account can be frozen and information can be obtained from the bank which may assist to identify the defendant. The defendants need to be identified as clearly as possible. On the facts they were sufficiently identified by reference to involvement in the activities said to have constituted the fraud and by reference to particular bank transfers and accounts. Alternative service on the relevant banks was also appropriate. Orders were also made against the relevant banks for provision of information.