Confidentiality in personal documents was not lost simply because a third party forwarded them to her work email account, notwithstanding the documents had automatically been stored on the third party's employer's computer systems. There was therefore no waiver of privilege by the claimant in relation to the employer.
An employee of Fulbright & Jaworski International LLP ("the employer") forwarded sensitive documents relating to the personal affairs of the claimant, Mr Shepherd (with whom she was having a relationship) to her work email account so that she could access them from work. When she viewed and opened the documents at work, the employer's computer systems automatically stored a copy of the documents on its server as a temporary internet file. During subsequent, unrelated, employment tribunal proceedings between the employee and employer, copies of the documents were retrieved by the employer (during searches of its computer systems for disclosure purposes) and disclosed in the employment tribunal proceedings.
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