03/02/2020 Reachlocal UK Ltd & Anor v Bennett & Ors [2014] EWHC 3405 (QB) (21 October 2014) 1. The claimants are two companies in the ReachLocal group, the ultimate parent of which is a US incorporated company, ReachLocal Inc. The second claimant is the main European subsidiary of the ReachLocal group, and the first claimant is the UK subsidiary of the second claimant. The ReachLocal group carries on business in many countries, providing online advertising and marketing services. Their service includes search engine advertising using keywords and boosting the profiles of their customers by raising their rankings on search engines, a process known as search engine optimisation. 2. The fifth defendant, Your Online Digital Agency Ltd, is an English company which describes itself as a boutique online marketing agency providing search engine optimisation, social media media marketing, pay per click, and other marketing services. It has two registered directors, the third defendant and the fourth defendant. The first defendant is not a registered director of the fifth defendant but holds himself out as its 'managing partner' and as being authorised to represent the company. The second defendant has been joined to these proceedings because that is the name of the person who appears to have been directly responsible for the publication of many, if not most, of the words of which the claimants complain. The claimants' position is that the second defendant is no more than an alias used by the first defendant. 3. The application which I have to consider is for final relief, in terms both of damages and injunction, in consequence of judgment in default of defence obtained by the claimants against the first, second, fourth and fifth defendants by order of Nicol J dated 3 July 2014. The third defendant is not a respondent to this application, the claimants having compromised their claim against him. That settlement was recorded in a Tomlin order dated 23 July 2014. 4. The claims made in this action are for defamation (libel and slander), malicious falsehood, breach of confidence and breach of contract. The claim form was issued on 12 March 2014, and on 20 March 2014 the claimants applied for a variety of interim injunctive relief and for an expedited trial of the claim. On 28 March 2014 Sir David Eady granted interim injunctions against each of the defendants, by which they were restrained from any further publication of the defamatory allegations complained of, and they were ordered (inter alia) to hand over all details held by them of the claimants' customers, together with any database or memory stick which stored that information electronically. There was also an order against the fifth defendant which related to solicitation of the claimants' customers and inducement of breach of contract, in breach of an agreement between the first claimant and the fifth defendant dated 13 March 2013. 5. The judge also gave directions for the future conduct of the action, which included an order for expedited trial, and an order for service of defences by 22 April 2014. No defences were served, and the claimants applied for further directions. On 30 April 2014, Tugendhat J ordered the defendants to file and serve their defences by 6 May 2014. Any defendant in default was to be debarred thereafter from serving a defence. Again, no defences were served, and the claimants applied on notice for judgment in default of service of defence. That application came before Sir David Eady on 9 June 2014. On that occasion, the first and third defendants appeared in person and expressed their intention to apply for relief from sanctions. The judge adjourned the hearing to enable the defendants to make that application. The adjourned hearing came before Nicol J. on 23 June 2014. By order on 3 July 2014, he refused the first defendant relief from sanctions, but granted relief to the third defendant (against whom, as I have already stated, the claim was shortly thereafter compromised). Nicol J granted the claimants judgment in default of defence, and gave directions for the hearing of assessment of damages and other final relief. 6. It may be worth noting that none of the costs orders made by Tugendhat J or Nicol J or by Sir David Eady has been complied with. Nor, I believe, have the defendants complied with the mandatory orders made by Sir David for delivery up of customer details and the provision of affidavits concerning their possession of the claimants' customer information. Moreover, the claimants are concerned that, notwithstanding the terms of the interim injunctions granted, there has been further publication of similarly defamatory material by at least some of the defendants. 7. It is against that background that the present application has come before me. Mr Nikki Singla of counsel has represented the claimants, but the defendants neither appeared nor were represented. As he www.bailii.org/ew/cases/EWHC/QB/2014/3405.html 2/14