A defamation claim over a letter written by one firm to another has been dismissed by a High Court judge. The case stems from a 2018 professional negligence claim against Arran Coghlan and Claire Burgoyne’s former legal advisers. The pair retained Lexlaw Limited to represent them under a conditional fee agreement. The defendants to that claim were represented by BLM Law.
In March 2020, Lexlaw’s retainer was terminated before the conclusion of the professional negligence proceedings and later that year, the firm sent a letter to BLM Law. The letter asserted a lien over any damages that might be due at the end of the case. Coghlan and Burgoyne sued for defamation, breach of fiduciary duty, misuse of confidential information and breaches of data protection rights.
The preliminary issue was conducted on the papers without a hearing. His Honour Judge Lewis, sitting as a deputy High Court judge in Arran Coghlan and anor v Lexlaw Limited, said the letter was ‘written in straightforward terms’, ‘contained statements of fact’ and ‘only a reader avid for scandal’ would think the letter would ‘cast aspersions in respect of the claimants’ conduct’.
He added: ‘The letter explains very clearly that the defendant was writing to protect its position and it explains the legal basis for doing so. Whilst there is a reference in the letter header to “unpaid legal fees”, it is apparent from reading the letter as a whole that any costs had not yet fallen due. The letter did not cast aspersions in respect of the claimants’ conduct, and only a reader avid for scandal would think that it did.’
Dismissing the defamation claim, in his eight-page judgment, the judge said: ‘The letter was not defamatory of the claimants at common law. It said nothing about the claimants’ character and would not have lowered or tended to lower the claimants in the estimation of right-thinking people generally.’
