CIVIL LITIGATION REVIEW OF 2018 3: THE OPENING LINES OF JUDGMENTS: THE CACTI WINS IT…
Every year we look at the contenders for the best opening lines of a judgment. This year we have even looked abroad. The winner comes, perhaps surprisingly, from the Intellectual Property and Enterprise Court. THE TATOO ARTIST -v- THE…
CIVIL LITIGATION REVIEW OF 2018 2: CASE OF THE YEAR: HOW WINNING ON A PRELIMINARY ISSUE CAN LEAD YOU UP THE GARDEN PATH
There are no objective criteria for selecting case of the year. This year I have chosen Burges & Anor v Lejonvarn [2018] EWHC 3166 (TCC). This case is a classic illustration of a basic failure to prove things. It is of central…
CIVIL LITIGATION: REVIEW OF 2018 1: FACTS AND FIGURES: MOST READ POSTS & INTERESTING SEARCH TERMS
Rather than try one all-encompassing review of the year this will be done in a series of posts. THE TOP TEN BLOG POSTS OF 2018 With over 1, 145,000 views the blog remains fairly popular. It is interesting to see…
BAD WEATHER MEANT COURT SHOULD HAVE GRANTED AN ADJOURNMENT: THE RELEVANT PRINCIPLES CONSIDERED
In Pari-Jones v CPS [2018] EWHC 3482 (Admin) the Administrative Court allowed an appeal against a decision not to adjourn a trial. The magistrates’ court simply went ahead without referring to any of the relevant legal principles. Although these were criminal…
CLAIMANT BEATS ITS OWN PART 36 OFFER ON COSTS: DOESN’T GET ADDITIONAL 10%: “UNJUST” CONSIDERED
NB THIS DECISION WAS OVERTURNED ON APPEAL, SEE THE POST CLAIMANT SUCCESSFUL IN APPEAL IN RECOVERING ADDITIONAL 10% IN DAMAGES WHEN OWN OFFER WAS BEATEN: THE ADDITIONAL AWARD SHOULD NOT BE CATEGORISED AS A “BONUS” A claimant who beats their own…
BOOK REVIEW: IN YOUR DEFENCE: A BARGAIN AT ANY PRICE
I have said before that it is the criminal (and family) lawyers that have the best tales. However there are always things we can learn. If you have a Kindle (or access to the Kindle app) “In Your Defence” by Sarah…
THE LEGAL CHRISTMAS MUSIC CONTEST 2018: THE WINNER
There were a large number of entries for the 2018 contest, all the entries can be seen here. There were reports of groups of lawyers taking parcels to their local foodbank. However, unfortunately, there can only be one winner. THE…
“DENTON” PRINCIPLES DO NOT APPLY TO SECTION 33 APPLICATIONS: HIGH COURT REJECTS DEFENDANT’S ARGUMENT THAT RELIEF FROM SANCTIONS PRINCIPLES SHOULD BE APPLIED TO LIMITATION ACT
In Ellis v Heart of England NHS Foundation Trust & Ors [2018] EWHC 3505 (Ch) HHJ McKenna (sitting in the High Court) roundly rejected an argument that the court should apply “Denton” type guidance to a claimant’s application to disapply the…
“MY SOLICITOR WROTE THAT STATEMENT”: A FAMILIAR TALE: HAVING A PLAN TO PROTECT YOURSELF
The previous post dealt with a case where the claimant’s witness statement was found to be “largely fictional”. This coincided with a number of posts on Twitter with various lawyers and judges (duly anonymous) commented on the situations in which…
THE WITNESS WHOSE STATEMENT WAS “SOMEWHAT FICTIONAL”: EXCELLENT EXPERTS WHO ROSE ABOVE THE FRAY
There are several aspects of the judgment in JAH v Burne & Ors [2018] EWHC 3461 (QB) that are of interest to civil litigators. Firstly it is another example of a case where the claimant’s witness statement was not accepted (at…
THE LEGAL CHRISTMAS MUSIC CONTEST 2018: ENTRIES
The Legal Christmas Music contest has now closed. The entries have been on a high standard, we are awaiting a reserved judgment from the experienced judging panel. THE CONTEST: A REMINDER This year we were looking for the best…
UNANTICIPATED SIZE OF DISCLOSURE WAS AN “UNANTICIPATED DEVELOPMENT”: UPWARD REVISION OF COST BUDGET ALLOWED
In Al-Najar & Ors v The Cumberland Hotel (London) Ltd [2018] EWHC 3532 (QB) Master Davison allowed an upward variation of the cost budget. The scale of disclosure given by the defendant could not have been anticipated and it was reasonable…
STRIKING OUT A SECOND ACTION: DIFFERENT CLAIMANT BUT ESSENTIALLY THE SAME ACTION: HIGH COURT DECISION TODAY
In the judgment today Samuel v Samuel & Ors [2018] EWHC 3513 (Ch) Master Teverson struck out an action as an abuse of process. There had been earlier proceedings of a similar nature that had been compromised. Although there was…
NEW DISCLOSURE SCHEME IN THE BUSINESS AND PROPERTIES COURTS: USEFUL LINKS AND GUIDANCE
The Disclosure Pilot Scheme for the Business and Properties Courts commences on the 1st January 2019. Here are some links to guides, written by practitioners, to the practical impact of the Pilot Scheme. THE RULES AND PRACTICE DIRECTIONS The Draft…
THE CIVIL PROCEDURE BACK TO BASICS SERIES 20: A RECAP
The purpose of this series is to provide short and basic summaries of some of the key points of civil procedure. Often a post is due to an observation made in a recent case, a comment on Twitter or a…
BACK TO BASICS 14: SERVICE OF THE CLAIM FORM ON A SOLICITOR
In the case I wrote about yesterday, Higgins & Ors v TLT LLP [2017] EWHC 3868 (Ch), the very basic errors made by the claimant’s solicitor in relation to service of the claim form were held to amount to “misconduct” (albeit in…
NOT TELLING THE CLAIMANT THE AMOUNT OF HIS DAMAGES: JUDICIAL APPROVAL OBTAINED
In EXB v FDZ & Ors [2018] EWHC 3456 (QB) Mr Justice Foskett had to consider the approach of the court when it was felt to in the claimant’s best interests not to be told of the size of his award…
THE CONSEQUENCES WHEN SERVICE OF THE CLAIM FORM GOES WRONG: SOLICITOR’S LIEN OVERRIDDEN: NOT KNOWING THE RULES IN RELATION TO SERVICE AMOUNTS TO “MISCONDUCT”
The judgment in Higgins & Ors v TLT LLP [2017] EWHC 3868 (Ch) shows another case that has been made problematic because of basic errors in failure of service of the claim form. The errors made by the solicitors in that…
BACK TO BASICS 19: COSTS BUDGETING WHEN CASE IS MORE THAN £25,000 BUT LESS THAN £50,000
There are special rules governing budgets in cases where the claimant claims more than £25,000 but less than £50,000. Firstly the budget has to be filed much earlier. Secondly the budget “must” only be the first page of Precedent H….
A STRATEGY WHEN SETTLEMENT IS REACHED WITH SOME, BUT NOT ALL, DEFENDANTS
An earlier post dealt with the judgment in McDermott -v- Inhealth Limited (19/07/2018) in relation to costs liability when a claimant settled against some, but not all, defendants in a clinical negligence case. That judgment was sent to me by Thomas Riis-Bristow, Associate…