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…
A tweet from a barrister, this afternoon complained, in essence about the “pointless aggression” of an opponent. It has gathered lots of support. One thing that judges, from around the world, are universally keen on is courtesy. This gives me…
In Leach v North East Ambulance Service NHS Foundation Trust [2020] EWHC 2914 (QB) HHJ Freedman (sitting as a Deputy High Court Judge) made some telling observations about the lack of objectivity of the defendant’s expert. THE CASE The claimant…
The observations of Mr Justice Nicklin in Rayner v Seabourne-Hawkins [2020] EWHC 2895 (QB) highlight the importance of gathering evidence promptly. It also contains the text of a highly perceptive letter from a prospective witness that, in many ways, highlights…
Today is a special day and I thought I’d start by looking at what scares lawyers most? This was discussed in 2017, there was another useful post on scary stuff in 2018. I have made a selection from the 2017…
In the judgment today in Deepchand & Anor v Sooben [2020] EWCA Civ 1409 the Court of Appeal overturned a decision that there be no order for costs when a party made an unsuccessful application for a non-party costs order. …
In the judgment today in Telefonica UK Ltd v The Office of Communications [2020] EWCA Civ 1374 the Court of Appeal overturned the decision of the trial judge not to award additional interest on damages and costs in a case…
Practice Direction 51ZA which allows parties to extend time limits for up to 56 days comes to an end on the 30th October 2020. Unless there is a further rule change then parties can only agree extensions of 28 days. …
In Toms (t/a Goldbergs Solicitors) v Brannan [2020] EWHC 2866 (QB) Mr Justice Griffiths dismissed a solicitor’s appeal against a decision that he was not able to recover costs from a client after a conditional fee agreement had been terminated….
The judgment of Master Kay in Sheeran & Ors v Chokri & Ors [2020] EWHC 2806 (Ch) provides an important reminder that a Part 18 request cannot simply be ignored. Further once a court makes an order that a party…
The judgment of HHJ Mithani QC in Colar v Highways England Company Ltd [2019] EW Misc 17 (CC) has recently arrived on BAILLI. It provides an illustration of the danger of defending a claim “at all costs”. The judge was…
There are many interesting aspects of the judgment of HHJ Mithani QC in Patel & Anor v Barlows Solicitors (a firm) & Ors [2020] EWHC 2753 (Ch). Here I want to look at the part of the judgment that considers…
In Mason -v- Laing (Bradford County Court 20th January 2020) HHJ Gosnell held that a claimant that failed to comply with the requirements as to instructing experts prior to a Stage 3 hearing could not rely on expert reports. The…
In March last year I wrote about the Supreme Court’s decision in Takhar v Gracefield Developments Ltd & Ors [2019] UKSC 13. In that case the Supreme Court held that a claimant could bring an action to set aside an earlier judgment which,…
In National Tourism Council of Qatar v Mehdiyev [2020] EWHC 2638 (Ch) Deputy Master Hansen considered the defendant’s evidence as to means when deciding whether or not to impose terms when setting aside a judgment. It is important to note…
In June this year I published an interview with Michael Williamson as part of The (Not So) Lonely Litigators Club series. Michael was the final “founding” member of our club. At that time Michael had recently merged his practice and…
In the judgment today in Jamous v Mercouris [2020] EWHC 2814 (QB) Mr Justice Murray refused a claimant’s application for permission to appeal out of time. It is a reminder that applications of extensions of time to appeal are dealt…
This blog has looked, many times, at cases that have floundered at trial because of basic failures to investigate the primary facts. Sometimes applications fail because of a fundamental lack of knowledge as to what “facts” are. The judgment…
In Park v Hadi & Anor [2020] EWHC 2687 Mr Justice Freedman granted a defendant relief from sanctions in circumstances where there had been a breach of a peremptory order and no formal application had been made. THE CASE…
In Belsner v Cam Legal Services Ltd [2020] EWHC 2755 (QB) the parties were arguing about £385.40. The judge observed “According to their statements of costs, the Claimant and the Defendant have spent £52,575.63 and £35,139.70 respectively on this appeal. That…
A classic example of a client seeking to blame their lawyer for the contents of a witness statement can be seen in the judgment in Simpson v Payne, reported in the PI Brief Update Law Journal. THE CASE The claimant…