Man behind legal challenge over bitcoin wallet and access to council-owned landfill site says “fight far from over” after Court of Appeal rebuff
The claimant pursuing a legal challenge against Newport City Council over a lost hard drive containing access to a Bitcoin wallet worth more than £500m has said he will take his claim to the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) following the Court of Appeal's decision to refuse permission for an appeal.
Lord Justice Nugee refused James Howells permission to appeal the High Court's decision on the papers last week (13 March) after concluding the proposed appeal did not have "any real prospect of success".
The Court of Appeal judge said there is "no compelling reason why the appeal should be heard, and permission must therefore be refused".
The decision came after the High Court dismissed Howells's claim in a summary judgment in January, finding "no reasonable grounds for bringing the case".
Howells's case centres on access to a landfill owned by the council where his hard drive, which was accidentally disposed of, is thought to be buried.
The hard drive contains the password to Howells's Bitcoin wallet, which holds 8,000 bitcoin.
Over the last ten years, Howells has repeatedly requested access to the landfill in a bid to retrieve the hard drive, offering to contribute 10% of the Bitcoin's value to the Newport community if it is successfully recovered.
In a statement issued after the Court of Appeal's recent refusal, Howells insisted that "the fight is far from over".
He said he would be exploring all legal avenues, including the possibility of an appeal to the ECHR, which would argue that his Article 1 right to property and his Article 6 right to a fair trial had been breached.
"The UK courts have denied me both of these rights - first in the High Court and now in the Court of Appeal", he said.
"My Right to Property, and the Right to a Fair Trial have been denied twice by outdated UK courts and it is now time to take this case to the highest level possible, the ECHR."
Adam Carey
