The trustees of the Glenfinnan Settlement are being sued by Mrs Ashley Dawson-Damer and her two children, Piers and Adelicia, regarding the disposition of the trust's assets. In 2013, having failed to obtain disclosure under Bahamian law, the Dawson-Damers presented the firm, Taylor Wessing, with an English subject access request under s7 of the Data Protection Act 1998 (DPA 1998). This requires an organisation to disclose all the personal data it holds on the individual who made the request.

It would seem to be an indirect way of trying to find out the reasoning behind the Trustees' use of their discretionary powers.

The Court of Appeal issued an order for disclosure of personal data. The firm complied with the order for data held in electronic form, but refused to release data held on paper, on the grounds that paper files did not constitute a relevant filing system under the DPA 1998. However in the most recent judgement, the High Court rejected Taylor Wessing's argument, and ordered it to examine its paper files for relevant information to be disclosed. This could potentially be a huge undertaking if there is no successful appeal – though whether it will help the claimants is another matter altogether.

The content of this article is intended to provide a general guide to the subject matter. Specialist advice should be sought about your specific circumstances.