Literacy Capital PLC v Vanessa Jane Webb
| Court | Literacy Capital PLC v Vanessa Jane Webb |
| Judge | Mr Justice Ritchie |
| Neutral Citation | [2024] EWHC 2026 (KB) |
| Date | 31 July 2024 |
| Year | 2024 |
| Counsel | John Mehrzad Kc,Paul Nicholls Kc |
Neutral Citation Number : [2024] EWHC 2026 (KB)
Case No.: KB-2024-002341
IN THE HIGH COURT OF JUSTICE
KING'S BENCH DIVISION
THE ROYAL COURTS OF JUSTICE
Date: 31 st
July 2024
Before:
MR JUSTICE RITCHIE
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BETWEEN
LITERACY CAPITAL PLC
Claimant
- and –
VANESSA JANE WEBB
Defendant
John Mehrzad KC (instructed by Addleshaw Goddard LLP, solicitors) for the
Claimant.
Paul Nicholls KC (instructed by Osborne Clarke LLP, solicitors) for the Defendant.
Hearing date: 26th July 2024
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APPROVED JUDGMENT
This judgment was handed down remotely at 15.00pm on Wednesday 31st July 2024 by
circulation to the parties or their representatives by e-mail and by release to the National
Archives.
Approved Judgment: Literacy Capital PLC v Webb
Mr Justice Ritchie:
The Parties
1. The Claimant is an investment company which holds controlling shareholdings in
other companies which purchased Mountain Healthcare Limited (Mountain).
2. The Defendant is a qualified nurse, doctor and business-woman who, with a business
partner, ran and grew Mountain, a company providing medical services to sexual
assault referral centres (SARCs).
Bundles
3. For the hearing I was provided with two hearing bundles, two authorities bundles, two
skeleton arguments and a late served witness statement from the Defendant.
Summary
4. This judgment deals with an application by the Claimant for an interim injunction to
restrain the Defendant from trading in competition with a group of subsidiary
companies owned by the Claimant including Mountain due to restraint of trade
covenants nationwide with a 10 year duration.
The Issues
5. There is only one issue to be determined. That is whether the restrictive covenants on
which the Claimant relies are unenforceable under the common law. Within that issue
are the following sub-issues:
5.1 What is the scope and duration of the restrictive covenants?
5.2 Arguably, does that scope attract the common law provisions governing the
validity of restraint of trade covenants?
5.3 If so, are these restrictive covenants unarguably void due to their wide scope
and long duration?
5.4 Should an interlocutory injunction be granted to restrain the Defendant?
Pleadings and chronology of the action
6. In the Claim Form, which was dated the 19th of July 2024 but has not been issued, the
Claimant sought a declaration that various restrictive covenants had been breached, an
injunction prohibiting breaches and costs. The Claim Form stated that the cause of
action was for breach of “restrictive covenants”. There are no Particulars of Claim. By
a notice of application issued on the 19th of July the Claimant sought an interim
injunction to restrain the Defendant from breaching non-compete and non-deal
restrictions in a written investment agreement dated 27th October 2021. The
application was listed for 1 hour and took 2.5 hours.
The lay witness evidence
7. I have read evidence from the following witnesses:
2
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