Jason Rawding -and- Seaga UK Limited [2015] EWCA Civ 113
This is a case about whether certain emails had been forged. The appellant individual appealed against the trial judge’s finding that the appellant had provided a personal guarantee for the debts of a company of which he was, for a period, the majority shareholder. The guarantee was claimed to have been provided in an exchange of emails between the appellant and the individual controlling the respondent company. The appellant’s case was that the emails had been forged. That was the only issue in the case.
In the appeal, the appellant applied for permission to rely on additional expert evidence from a data recovery specialist, who had analysed back up tapes that had been found after the trial and which it was previously believed could have contained no useful information. The conclusion of the expert having analysed the tapes was that the appellant did not send or receive any of the emails in issue.
The Court of Appeal admitted the evidence, allowed the appeal and ordered that the issue of the authenticity of the emails be referred back to the trial judge for determination in light of the new evidence.
Mark Vanhegan QC and Chris Aikens acted for the successful appellant in the appeal.