The High Court in England has issued a recent ruling in the case of AKO Capital LLP & Another v TFS Derivatives & Others that the service of a court claim may be carried out via Facebook.
Whilst there have been a small number of county court claims served using the social networking site in England and Wales, this is the first High Court judgment. Given that such a large proportion of communication takes place online, the decision demonstrates how the court system in England is adapting to the way in which people engage with social media in the United Kingdom. Courts in Australia and New Zealand now regularly allow service of claims via Facebook.
The claimants in this action are two investment managers seeking the recovery of around £1.3 million from their broker, TFS Derivatives ("TFS"), for an alleged overcharge of commission. TFS dispute the claim, and maintain that should they be found liable, they should be able to recover some of the damages from two of their former employees, Mr de Biase and Mr Ahmed.
On the basis that TFS were not sure whether Mr de Biase remained at his last known address, the broker asked the High Court for authority to serve the claim on the former employee via his Facebook account. TFS were able to demonstrate to the Court that the Facebook account did indeed belong to Mr de Biase and that the account was being regularly accessed, as recent friend requests were being accepted.
The courts in Scotland have so far not allowed service of court documents by Facebook or Twitter, but watch this space.
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