Isotta Reichenbach has successfully defended a County court claim brought by a claimant seeking damages for an alleged breach of UK GDPR and the Data Protection Act 2018 by the defendant, a gambling company.
The case concerned a Data Subject Access Request (DSAR) made by the claimant to the defendant via email correspondence. Under the relevant statute and rules, the defendant, as a data ‘controller’ was required to comply with this request within one month and furnish the claimant with his personal data.
The claimant wrote several further emails to the defendant, to various email addresses. He claimed that these emails ‘bounced back’ and that he had never received a single email from the defendant. The defendant’s case was that it had in fact sent the claimant’s personal data to him via email within the one-month period.
Despite an attempt at mediation, the claimant continued to maintain that the defendant was in breach of their obligations, and that he should be entitled to compensation; this was for distress caused by the breach ‘per se’ and compounded distress for not being able to address ‘a gambling addiction’ without his personal data.
After submissions, the Deputy District Judge found in favour of the defendant. In his judgment, he found that whilst it was impossible for the claimant to prove a ‘negative’- that he had never received any emails- he found that the defendant had complied with its statutory obligations as far as it was required to. Further, he found that even if the claim had been successful, any distress said to have been suffered by the claimant was not properly evidenced to warrant the desired compensation.
Isotta Reichenbach was instructed by Archie Berens of Costigan King.