Payment made to DLA Piper in relation to defending litigation against Alison McDermott
Dear Sellafield Limited,
I wish to make an FOI request to obtain the exact amount of money you have spent with DLA Piper in relation to the whistleblowing case of Alison McDermott.
I understand that the local press have asked you for this information before and you have stated you don't have a detailed breakdown.
My understand is that for all kinds of purposes, not least of all audit, you will be obliged to know and reveal the exact amounts of money you spent on this case to date. DLA Piper will also have had to provided you with a detailed breakdown of how much money they are invoicing Sellafield for their services in relation to thislitigation, particularly as it is public money.
Please can you confirm receipt of this FOI request and confirm when it will be released to me.
Yours faithfully,
Alison McDermott
Case ref: 2020-0123
Dear Alison,
Your request (Case ref: Case ref: 2020-0123) for information regarding legal costs for DLA Piper, was received on Thursday 20 February 2020, and will be dealt with under the terms of the Freedom of Information Act 2000.
We will respond as soon as practicably possible.
In some circumstances a fee may be payable and if that is the case, I will let you know the likely charges before proceeding.
Please do not hesitate to contact me with any queries you may have via [Sellafield request email]
Please remember to quote the reference numbers above in any future communications.
Kind regards
Janice Amor
Sellafield Ltd
"The information contained in this email may be commercially sensitive and/or legally privileged. It is intended solely for the person(s) to whom it is addressed. If you are not a named recipient, you are on notice of its status. Please notify the sender immediately by reply e-mail and then delete this message from your system. You must not disclose it to any other person, copy or distribute it or use it for any purpose.
Views expressed in this email are not necessarily those of Sellafield Ltd.
Sellafield Ltd, a Nuclear Decommissioning Authority company, is registered in England and Wales, Company number 01002607. The registered office is situated at Hinton House, Birchwood Park Avenue, Risley, Warrington, Cheshire, WA3 6GR."
Case ref: 2020-0123
Dear Alison,
I write further to your request (Case ref: 2020-0123) for information regarding DLA Piper LLP costs “to obtain the exact amount of money you have spent with DLA Piper in relation to the whistleblowing case of Alison McDermott. I understand that the local press have asked you for this information before and you have stated you don't have a detailed breakdown. My understand is that for all kinds of purposes, not least of all audit, you will be obliged to know and reveal the exact amounts of money you spent on this case to date. DLA Piper will also have had to provided you with a detailed breakdown of how much money they are invoicing Sellafield for their services in relation to this litigation, particularly as it is public money”
Sellafield Ltd cannot release any information in relation to individual cases to a third party e.g. journalist, as this would be a breach of the GDPR guidelines. But as the data requested relates to yourself and your own case we can provide this information to you. We therefore confirm that Sellafield Ltd has incurred costs with DLA Piper LLP in relation to the above case of £75,756.28 as at March 2020. However please note that releasing this information via what do they know places the information in the public domain.
If you are unhappy with the way your request for information has been handled, you can request Sellafield Ltd carry out an internal review (contact: [Sellafield request email]).
If you remain dissatisfied with the handling of your request or complaint you have a right to appeal to the Information Commissioner at:
Information Commissioner’s Office,
Wycliffe House,
Water Lane,
Wilmslow,
Cheshire,
SK9 5AF.
Kind regards
Janice
Sellafield Ltd
"The information contained in this email may be commercially sensitive and/or legally privileged. It is intended solely for the person(s) to whom it is addressed. If you are not a named recipient, you are on notice of its status. Please notify the sender immediately by reply e-mail and then delete this message from your system. You must not disclose it to any other person, copy or distribute it or use it for any purpose.
Views expressed in this email are not necessarily those of Sellafield Ltd.
Sellafield Ltd, a Nuclear Decommissioning Authority company, is registered in England and Wales, Company number 01002607. The registered office is situated at Hinton House, Birchwood Park Avenue, Risley, Warrington, Cheshire, WA3 6GR."
Case ref: 2020-0124
Dear Alison,
Due to the on-going Coronavirus pandemic I will require extra time to respond to your request regarding the value of contracts awarded to external suppliers for any HR consulting services or HR Transformation services.
I am currently working from home with limited resource.
I will endeavour to answer your request as soon as practicability possible, and thank you for your patience at this time.
In the meantime if you have any questions or concerns please do let me know via [Sellafield request email]
Take care.
Kind regards
Janice
Corporate Affairs
Sellafield Ltd
Case ref: 2020-0124
Dear Alison,
Just an update on your request. I'm on annual leave next week, so I won't be able to answer your request by Tuesday 7 April, but I will respond upon my return on Tuesday 14 April.
If you have any questions please let me know before 16:00 today.
Take care
Kind regards
Janice
Corporate Affairs
Sellafield Ltd
Dear Amor, Janice (SL),
Please could you provide a breakdown of the invoices including the dates.
Also can you confirm that these costs include the fees for Counsel which are sometimes invoiced separately to the fees for the legal firm, in this case DLA Piper To be clear, is the figure you quoted for all the legal costs including any Counsel fees at the pre-trial hearing in July 2019 and any other Counsel related expenditure throughout the entire period of the ongoing litigation? If not, please can you provide the details of these additional costs.
It is important that there is complete transparency in this matter given that the taxpayer are funding your defence.
Yours sincerely,
Alison McDermott
I am on leave returning on Tuesday 14 April
If urgent please contact Steve Barnes on 01925 83 3249 or
[1][email address]
For requests for information please email [2][Sellafield request email]
References
Visible links
1. mailto:[email address]
2. mailto:[Sellafield request email]
Case Ref: 20200-0127
Dear Alison,
Sellafield Ltd responded to your original request in full on 17 March
2020, and you were provided with the total fee paid to DLA Piper LP in
relation to your case. On 9 April 2020 you submitted a follow-up request,
asking for additional information:
1.Please could you provide a breakdown of the invoices including the
dates.
We are withholding a breakdown of the invoices applying s.43 (applicable
exemption s.43(2) Commercial Interests Freedom of Information Act 2000)
Information is exempt information if its disclosure under this Act would,
or would be likely to, prejudice the commercial interests of any person
(including the public authority holding it).
2. Is the figure you quoted for all the legal costs including any Counsel
fees at the pre-trial hearing in July 2019 and any other Counsel related
expenditure throughout the entire period of the ongoing litigation? If
not, please can you provide the details of these additional costs.
I can confirm that the figure quoted was for all legal costs up to March
2020.
If you are unhappy with the way your request for information has been
handled, you can request Sellafield Ltd carry out an internal review
(contact: [Sellafield request email]).
If you remain dissatisfied with the handling of your request or complaint
you have a right to appeal to the Information Commissioner at:
Information Commissioner’s Office,
Wycliffe House,
Water Lane,
Wilmslow,
Cheshire,
SK9 5AF.
Kind regards
Janice
"The information contained in this email may be commercially sensitive
and/or legally privileged. It is intended solely for the person(s) to whom
it is addressed. If you are not a named recipient, you are on notice of
its status. Please notify the sender immediately by reply e-mail and then
delete this message from your system. You must not disclose it to any
other person, copy or distribute it or use it for any purpose.
Views expressed in this email are not necessarily those of Sellafield Ltd.
Sellafield Ltd, a Nuclear Decommissioning Authority company, is
registered in England and Wales, Company number 01002607. The registered
office is situated at Hinton House, Birchwood Park Avenue, Risley,
Warrington, Cheshire, WA3 6GR."
We work to defend the right to FOI for everyone
Help us protect your right to hold public authorities to account. Donate and support our work.
Donate Now