Insurer gets injunction preventing former employee from using alleged confidential information

An Insurance company has secured a High Court injunction preventing a former employee from using or distributing any confidential information relating to the firm.

The order was granted in favour of Aon Ireland Limited, against Luciana Bernardes De Castro, who the court heard worked as a claims administrator for the company between March 2020 and January 2022, at which point she allegedly resigned from her job.

The court heard Ms De Castro has made a claim in August 2022 to the Workplace Relations Committee against Aon Ireland, which is a subsidiary of Aon Plc.

Arising out of her claim, Aon conducted a targeted search of her work emails. It was discovered she sent a number of emails to her personal account and to a third party.

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The company claims certain emails sent from her former work email account included sensitive information, including medical information, which Aon says amounts to a breach of her legal obligations to her former employer.

Ms De Castro, who had been living in Liffey Valley Park in Lucan but may have moved elsewhere, was contacted about the matter in early November.

In reply, she allegedly said: “Over six months had passed since I left that toxic work environment (in which I was forced to work through a finger injury that’s permanent damage now) and I have no interest in engaging with Aon Ireland ltd in any capacity”.

In further telephone conversations between Aon’s lawyers and Ms De Castro, it is alleged she indicated that she would not co-operate with Aon regarding the alleged data breach.

It is also claimed she said she passed on the information to somebody who would help her in her case against Aon.

The injunctions, which prevent the defendant from using or disseminating any confidential information in her possession relating to the company or the Aon group, were granted by Mr Justice Brian O’Moore.

The judge was satisfied from the evidence before the court to grant the orders sought. They are to remain in place until the full dispute has been determined.

Ms De Castro was neither present nor represented in court when the case was called on.

The judge said he was satisfied the defendant had been made aware of and had been provided with relevant documents in the proceedings.

Seeking the injunctions, Rosemary Mallon BL, for AON, said her client had sought undertakings from Ms De Castro but she declined to co-operate in relation to its data concerns.

Arising out of the defendant’s refusal to give the company any of the undertakings, Aon had “no option” other than to come to court and seek an injunction, counsel said.

Aon had serious concerns given Ms De Castro has not denied having confidential information, including a medical report relating to a third party that appears to have been passed on to an unknown third party.

Aon has reported the alleged data breach to the Data Protection Commissioner, the court also heard.

After granting the injunction, the judge adjourned the action to a date in 2023.

The judge added that he was giving both sides permission to come to court to vary or remove the orders if needed.