Settlement Terms In Litigation: High Court Upholds Confidentiality

In Omanovic v Shamaazi Ltd & Anor [2025] EWHC 110 (KB), the High Court held that evidence of settlement terms agreed with two claimants was inadmissible in evidence at the trial of the remaining claimant's claims, or alternatively should be excluded pursuant to the court's power to control the evidence under CPR 32.1.

In deciding to exclude the settlement details from the evidence, the Court emphasised the importance of confidentiality of settlement terms and its policy of promoting settlements.

Background

The case involved a concept conceived by the second defendant, Mr Ismael Dainehine, to facilitate the making of charitable donations in the final ten days of Ramadan. The claimant, Mr Adnan Omanovic, was involved in the project from an early stage. Mr Omanovic claimed that, pursuant to a meeting with Mr Dainehine in April 2018, he was promised a 25% interest in the equity of the first defendant, Shamaazi Ltd, the corporate vehicle through which MyTenNights