UK: Accidental Document Release Disrupts Lottery Litigation

Last year, one of the unsuccessful bidders for the UK National Lottery license, Northern & Shell, filed a lawsuit against the gambling regulator in the country. Naming the Gambling Commission defendant, the company sought an issue with the selection process for the Fourth National Lottery contract, valued at tens of billions of pounds.

An “Unprecedented” Error

Now, the legal dispute continues to gain traction after the defense of the gambling regulator incorrectly disclosed thousands of documents, some of which were confidential, to the claimants. Ultimately, the claimants plan to amend their legal challenge, subject to approval from court.

Hogan Lovells, the defense of the Gambling Commission, made an “unprecedented” error during the disclosure of pre-trial documents. The exchange of documents between parties involved in litigation isn’t uncommon and is often carried out ahead of trials.

However, the lawyers representing the Commission reportedly released 4,321 documents, some of which contained sensitive and confidential data, relevant to the Fourth National Lottery contract, valued at £80 billion ($103.4 billion). In light of the disclosed documents, the claimants now seek to amend the lawsuit filed against the Commission.

During a hearing on Tuesday this week, Northern & Shell asked for permission to use some of the documents in its claim over the National Lottery license. Some parts of the recent hearing were closed to the public. While the court did not rule on the matter on Tuesday, a decision is expected soon.

Defendants Claim the Documents May Allow the Plaintiffs to Gain Advantage

On behalf of the Commission, Tamara Oppenheimer KC, who was quoted by the Law Society Gazette, explained that the disclosure of those documents, some of which were privileged, was an “obvious mistake.” She elaborated further by explaining: “Parties are minded to behave sensibly and honestly. Inadvertent disclosure should not be an opportunity for the receiving party to take advantage.” Oppenheimer acknowledged that if the claimants are permitted to use some of those documents, disclosed obviously in error, they would have unfair advantage in the legal claim.

“It would be unfair and inappropriate if (the claimants) were permitted to take advantage of those obvious errors by bolstering its case through the use of the Commission’s privileged documents,“

Tamara Oppenheimer KC

Sa’ad Hossain KC, on behalf of the claimants, reaffirmed their dedication to use some of the documents and amend their plea. “The reality is we are entitled to assume the documents have been disclosed to us not by mistake,” he explained.

It is yet to be seen whether or not the court would permit the use of the additional documents in the trial. Even if that’s the case, this doesn’t guarantee a win for the claimants.

To complicate things further, the transfer of the National Lottery license was already completed early last year when Allwyn took over. In that line of thought, it remains to be seen how the legal challenge would be settled, even if the court rules in favor of Northern & Shell.