A barrister has been ordered to pay nearly £7,000 in wasted costs after attempting to appear remotely at a tribunal hearing from a moving train in Germany. Michael Engelhardt-Sprack, who was representing Shannon Burns, a technology executive pursuing a discrimination claim, faced the penalty following disruptions during the hearing.

Burns is seeking record damages of £76 million after a tribunal found she experienced discrimination at a company now owned by OpenAI, the developers of ChatGPT. During the original tribunal, it was revealed that the judge had permitted Engelhardt-Sprack to conduct the first day of the hearing remotely. Engelhardt-Sprack, who practices law in the United Kingdom but resides in Germany with his family, appeared via video link on that occasion.

However, at a subsequent wasted costs hearing this year, it emerged that Engelhardt-Sprack had joined the tribunal from a train station while traveling in Germany. The case was initially delayed for 20 minutes before he connected wearing headphones. The judge overseeing the costs hearing, Rachel Wedderspoon, noted that the environment was unsuitable due to background noise and poor internet connectivity.

When asked by the tribunal about when he could find a quieter location, Engelhardt-Sprack indicated it would be in roughly an hour as he awaited a connecting train. Contrary to this assurance, rather than remaining at the station, he boarded a second train and rejoined the video call during transit. Wedderspoon reported noticeable passenger noise and difficulty hearing the barrister over a poor internet connection.

Due to these issues, the hearing was adjourned and resumed the following day with Engelhardt-Sprack attending in person at the tribunal in Birmingham. The costs judge ruled that the lost day of proceedings was wasted and ordered the barrister to pay £6,767.44 in costs to the respondent in the case brought by Burns.