This section looks at decisions in relation to relief from sanctions and the general principles of CPR 3.9. Often there are links to the decisions themselves, together with links to posts on this blog. A USEFUL GUIDE – BY SUBJECT…
The judgment of District Judge Dawson in Jagger (& others) -v- Axa Insurance PLC, has enough material to keep this blog going for a month. (The judgment is available on a link from the Law Society Gazette here). I am…
This year has seen a bumper number of reported cases on what Master McCloud has referred to as a “dry and unlovely crop of procedural service issues”. This webinar on the 5th February looks at the cases relating to the…
In Churchill v Merthyr Tydfil County Borough Council [2023] EWCA Civ 1416 the Court of Appeal considered the question of whether the courts can stay an action to, effectively, compel the parties to engage in ADR. It was held that…
In a judgment today TUI UK Ltd v Griffiths [2023] UKSC 48 the Supreme Court overturned the decision of the majority of the Court of Appeal. It is an important decision on procedural fairness. In particular the duty of a…
In Zuhri v Vardags Ltd [2023] EWHC 3050 (SCCO) Costs Judge Leonard held that the provisions of CPR Part 36 do not apply to a Solicitors Act assessment of costs. However it may be relevant to Part 7 proceedings issued,…
Over the course of 2023 we saw many cases in which the conduct of experts and those who instruct them came under close scrutiny and criticism in the courts. I am presenting a webinar on the 24th January 2024 reviewing…
A reminder that the financial eligibility criteria for help with court fees was changed from the 27th November 2023. There are also new court forms designed to make the process (which can be somewhat tortuous) simpler. FROM THE GOVERNMENT PRESS…
I am grateful to solicitor John McQuater for sending me a copy of the judgment of HHJ Sadiq in Drury -v- Yorkshire Aggregates Limited (a decision made in January this year, but the transcript has only just become available). It…
In Pincus v Singh & Anor [2023] EWHC 2997 (Ch) HHJ Paul Matthews refused a defendant’s application to set aside a default judgment. The defendant had waited for three months before making the application. There was no evidence in support…
The judgment of Mr Justice Pepperall in Bayless & Ors v Norfolk and Norwich University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust [2023] EWHC 2986 (KB) provides a warning, to both claimants and defendants, that offers under the Fatal Accidents Act, that involve…
In Reid v Wye Valley NHS Trust & Anor [2023] EWHC 2843 (KB) Master Brown reduced the recoverable costs of budgeting by 25% to reflect the unrealistic nature of the claimant’s budget. There are important issues here for those who…
There is much to learn from the decision of Mr Justice Ritchie in Tan v Idlbi & Anor [2023] EWHC 2840 (KB). The claimant was unsuccessful in an application for relief from sanctions following late service of the costs budget….
There have been a number of cases recently where judges have commented on the state of the pleadings. We see observations being made by Mr Justice Ritchie in the decision today in DMH Electrical (UK) Ltd v MK City Group…
In Y v Z [2023] EWFC 205 HHJ Edward Hess ordered that the litigation friend for the respondent pay, personally, the applicant’s costs caused by the need to adjourn a hearing. The respondent had not prepared at all for the…
We are returning to an examination of costs orders made and their practical implications for the client. In Aymes International Ltd v Nutrition4u BV & Ors [2023] EWHC 2672 (Ch) HHJ Hodge KC (sitting as a High Court Judge) considered…
One of the aims of the “Costs Bites” series is to look at those, apparently small, aspects of cases that have a major impact on the client. Short passages in a judgment can have a major impact on whether a…
In Azhar v All Money Matters t/a TFC Home Loans [2023] EWCA Civ 1341 the Court of Appeal rejected a defendant’s argument that it should have been permitted to raise a “new” point on appeal. The matter upon which the…
The repost last week of a case where key facts came to light on the third day of a trial led me another post on the topic which is worth revisiting. After the first post was written I asked lawyers if…
As part of the process of re-blogging posts that remain of general interest we are looking again at the case of Jollah, R (On the Application Of) v Secretary of State for the Home Department (No. 2) [2017] EWHC 2821 (Admin)…
Several kind people have sent me a copy of the decision in Abbott & Ors v Ministry of Defence [2023] EWHC 2839 (KB). This is an unusual case because, despite the claimant and defendant being in agreement, the court did…