Lloyds Developments v Accor

• Whether former directors had to surrender mobile devices.
• Whether uncertainty over deleted-message recovery was enough to prevent that order.
• Whether the principal's inspection right extended to electronic material on personal devices used by former agents.
• How privacy and mixed personal and business content were to be managed in practice.

The available reports do not set out the claimant's submissions in full. What is clear is that relief was sought requiring former directors to surrender mobile devices, and that the application succeeded.

Published commentary says the legal route depended on the principal's common law right to inspect documents held by a former agent, with Fairstar and Yasuda treated as part of the background.

The available reports do not set out the defendants' or former directors' full resistance case either. The reported point of resistance was uncertainty over whether deleted messages could be recovered.

Published commentary also says the presence of personal material on the phones did not, by itself, defeat inspection.

The reported finding is that former directors were ordered to surrender mobile devices despite uncertainty over deleted-message recovery.

Published commentary says the court treated the principal's inspection right as reaching electronic material on personal devices and did not accept mixed personal and business content as a complete answer.

The court ordered the surrender of mobile devices by former directors.

Published commentary also reports that the directors were ordered to pay 80 per cent of the costs of Lloyds and Accor, with Lloyds jointly and severally liable for Accor's costs if the directors failed to pay.

• The ruling is reported as an application of the principal's inspection right to electronic material on a former agent's personal device.
• Mixed personal and business content was reportedly not enough, by itself, to prevent inspection.
• Privacy was reportedly managed through independent review and agreed disclosure parameters.
• The reported costs order gives the ruling practical force beyond the phones point alone.