Links to posts and articles on all aspects of civil procedure. Linking does not indicate approval or agreement but that all discussion on these issues is useful. RECENT POSTS AND ARTICLES 27th May 2019 The Law Society Gazette “Separate…
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…
Giles Peaker in the Nearly Legal Housing Law blog does a major public service in providing advertising for jobs in housing and social welfare. Giles is taking a rest from blogging at the moment and I have taken up the…
Any public body, indeed anyone, considering making an application for a without notice injunction is best advised to read the judgment of Mr Justice Warby in Birmingham City Council v Afsar & Ors [2019] EWHC 1560 (QB). “Urgency can…
In White Winston Select Asset Funds LLC & Anor v Mahon & Anor [2019] EWHC 1381 (Ch) HHJ Simon Barker QC had some telling words about the manner in which the claimant had conducted litigation. What is remarkable about this…
The judgment in Brothers Enterprises Ltd v New World Hospitality UK Ltd [2017] EWHC 2455 (Ch) has only recently arrived on BAILLI. However it is a case that shows the importance of disclosure in relation to without notice injunctions. What…
Not for the first time I return to the matter of hearings being taken out of the list at the very last moment. This is a longstanding problem that is getting worse. There were reports last week of two sets…
In Dodds v Arif & Anor [2019] EWHC 1512 (QB) Master Davison refused the defendant’s application to rely on a specialist report in relation to the claimant’s life expectancy. The judgment also contains an important summary of the circumstances in…
This is not the first time I have written about the need for care when serving the claim form on solicitors. I suspect it won’t be the last. The cases just keep on coming.The Court of Appeal decision in Woodward &…
A constant, worrying, theme on this blog has been the need for (and funding of) representation of defendants in civil committal proceedings. These concerns run alongside the many and manifest procedural errors that applicants (and sometimes judges) make when committal…
In Knight & Anor v Knight & Ors (Costs) [2019] EWHC 1545 (Ch) HHJ Paul Matthews (sitting as a High Court Judge) held that an offer that attempted to limit costs was not a valid Part 36 offer. The judge…
In UTB LLC v Sheffield United Ltd [2019] EWHC 1377 (Ch) Mr Justice Fancourt refused Sheffield United’s application for relief from sanctions so as to allow it to dispute the authenticity of documents during the course of a trial. “A…
One guarantee for anyone writing about civil procedure is that there will be a regular supply of what Master McCloud has described as ” a dry and unlovely crop of procedural service issues”, The Court of Appeal decision in Woodward…
In East Sussex Fire And Rescue Service v Austin [2019] EWHC 1455 (QB) Mrs Justice Lambert dismissed the defendant’s (paying party) appeal. The defendant argued that costs were disproportional, that the use of leading counsel was unreasonable – as was…
In Saint Benedict Land Trust Ltd v London Borough of Camden & Anor [2019] EWHC 1433 (Ch) (17 May 2019) Mr Justice Marcus Smith took a very dim view indeed of an attempt by a litigant to obtain an extension…
In AXO v Salisbury NHS Foundation Trust [2019] EWHC 1454 (QB) Mrs Justice YIP considered the issue of causation in a clinical negligence case. Liability was admitted but the claimant failed to establish causation. THE CASE The claimant child was…
The one certainty in litigation at the moment is that the Bates -v- Post Office case is going to keep providing plenty of material on evidence, procedure and costs. We see this in the judgment Bates & Ors v Post…
In Malmsten v Bohinc [2019] EWHC 1386 (Ch) Mr Justice Marcus Smith allowed a paying party’s appeal in an assessment and reduced a bill from £74,328.90 to £15,000. There is a detailed consideration of how the proportionality test should be…
There has been a spate of cases recently relating to appeals of findings of fact by a trial judge. There are major problems in such appeals, this is illustrated by the judgment of Mr Justice Andrew Baker in Auliffe &…
The previous post on this blog was about the importance of giving the source of information or belief and first hand witness evidence. However whenever a lawyer signs a document with a statement of truth they are taking their career…
There are numerous posts on the blog about the need for first-hand evidence to be given, and the dangers of a lawyer making witness statements. These risks are exemplified in the judgment of Chief Master Marsh today in The David…
Matthew Scott’s “Barrister Blogger” blog is always an interesting read. His latest post Expert witnesses: a crisis in the criminal courts is essential reading for everyone involved in any type of litigation – and also for anyone who is an…