The Northern Ireland Court of Appeal has granted leave to appeal to Neil and Donna Sands following the dismissal of their case against the operators of the Tattle Life gossip website.
The Sands sued in defamation and privacy in 2023 over a lengthy thread about them and their family. The website did not identify its operators at the time they sued. Their claim was brought against the “persons unknown” operating the website and the letter before claim and numerous court documents were sent by their then solicitors to an email address provided on the website for complaints.
The website did not respond, and in Autumn 2023 a default judgment in their favour was followed by unprecedented damages awards of £150,000 to each of them.
In June 2025 Sebastian Bond and a company owned by him were substituted as the defendants who operated the website.
In April 2026 the High Court in Belfast found, on an application by Mr Bond, that in 2023/24 the Sands and the lawyers who represented them at the time, while suing “persons unknown”, had failed to disclose to the court information indicating that he and his company were operating Tattle Life. It set aside service of the proceedings and the default judgment for material non-disclosure, effectively unwinding and dismissing the entire case.
On their appeal the Sands contend, as they did before the judge, that Mr Bond was aware of the proceedings throughout and chose not to engage with them. They will point to the fact that Mr Bond declined to file any evidence on his application as to his knowledge or otherwise of the proceedings in 2023/24.
On this basis they contend that dismissal of the claim was an unjustifiable windfall to the defendants and a disproportionate remedy for the material non-disclosure.
The full appeal will be heard in the Autumn.
Gavin Millar KC represented Mr and Mrs Sands on the dismissal application made by Mr Bond and does so on the Bonds’ appeal, instructed by Arthur Cox LLP.