THE SOLICITOR, THE LIQUIDATOR AND THE CFA: STEVENSDRAKE THE JUDGMENT AT TRIAL
In Stevensdrake -v- Hunt [2016] EWHC 342 (Ch) His Honour Judge Simon Barker QC (sitting as a judge of the High Court) decided that, despite the clear wording of a conditional fee agreement, the defendant was not personally liable to…
WITNESS EVIDENCE: MEDICAL NOTES AND CREDIBILITY
There have been several cases this week where a clinical negligence claim rested, ultimately, on whether or not a judge accepted a doctor’s account of what was said. In Lillington -v- Ansell & Jennison [2016] EWHC 351 (QB) Mr Justice…
CONTESTED APPLICATION TO TRANSFER TO THE FINANCIAL LIST
In Property Alliance Group Limited -v- Royal Bank of Scotland PLC [2016] ~EWHC 207 (Ch) Sir Terence Atherton considered a contested application to transfer proceedings into the Financial List. There is a useful explanation as to the scope of the…
PROBATE FEES,COSTS AND FATAL ACCIDENTS: SIX KEY POINTS
There has been major controversy recently about the proposed increase in probate fees. In particular there was some concern, expressed on twitter, that claimants could not afford to issue proceedings. There are a number of points that need to be…
A SPLIT TRIAL ON A PRELIMINARY ISSUE: ANOTHER CAUTIONARY TALE
A post earlier this month looked at the dangers of a court ordering a trial on a preliminary issue on a point of law. Similar concerns were raised by Mr Justice Edwards-Stuart in Water Lilly Co Ltd -v- Clin [2016] EWHC…
THE IMPACT OF PROCEDURE UPON SUBSTANTIVE LAW: KNAUER -v- MOJ
I have written elsewhere about the impact of the Supreme Court decision in Knauer v Ministry of Justice [2016] UKSC 9. It is interesting to look at one short part of the judgment to reflect how changes to procedure can have…
LEGALLY STREETWISE: WHAT YOU DON’T LEARN IN LAW SCHOOL
Initially it was a surprise to discover that law students were being told to read this blog (I am not sure I need that kind of pressure). Apparently prospective pupils and trainees are advised to read it to answer interview…
WITNESSES TRIALS AND ACCURACY OF RECOLLECTION (II)
The previous post dealt with a case where a judge had preferred the evidence of the medical practitioners in a clinical negligence case. As is so often the case a judgment reported on the same day shows a case where…
WITNESSES, TRIALS AND ACCURACY OF RECOLLECTION: ANOTHER EXAMPLE
In XYZ -v- Warrington & Halton NHS Foundation Trust [2016] EWHC 331 (QB) Mr Justice Dove considered a trial where the outcome, as so often, depended on the accuracy of recollection. THE CASE The claimant brought an action in…
FIXED COSTS AND PART 36: THE JUDGMENT IN THE COURT OF APPEAL
The Court of Appeal has given judgment today in Broadhurst -v- Tan [2016] EWCA Civ 94. “Where a claimant makes a successful Part 36 offer in a section IIIA case, he will be awarded fixed costs to the last staging…
WITNESS STATEMENTS: THE CHANCERY GUIDE: SOMETHING FOR US ALL
Such is the remarkable ability of the Chancery Division that the latest guide (dated March 2016) is already available. I have said many times that the Chancery Guide has much to offer all civil practitioners. Here I want to look…
COURT CLOSURES, POOR DECISION MAKING AND BEECHING: AN EVISCERATING ANALOGY
I have already written about how court closures will undermine the fabric of the civil justice system. Justice will be imposed on communities from afar, rather than being an integral part of the local community. However I thought it important…
THE SHORTER TRIALS SCHEME: SCOPE AND PROCEDURE
The Shorter Trial Scheme is both interesting and exciting. Providing as it does a possible blueprint for getting appropriate cases to trial much quicker, and a much lower costs. The scheme is discussed in detail in the short judgment of…
PROVING THINGS 11: LIES, DAMN LIES AND…
There has, over the years, been some considerable controversy about the use of “statistics” in criminal cases. Some civil cases have shown that judges are sceptical of the use of statistics in individual cases, preferring to base decisions on the…
HEARING AN APPLICATION FOR PRE-ACTION DISCLOSURE AFTER PROCEEDINGS ARE ISSUED: FURTHER DEVELOPMENTS
An earlier post considered the question whether an application for pre-action disclosure can properly be made after proceedings were issued. This issue was considered again by HHJ Moloney QC (sitting as a judge of the High Court) in Anglia Research…
ANOTHER ASSESSMENT OF WITNESS CREDIBILITY
A regular theme of this blog has been how important witness credibility is to the outcome of many civil actions. The assessment of credibility is often one of the key tasks of the trial judge at. It is an issue…
A QUICK WORD ON WITNESS CREDIBILITY: WHAT THE BUTLER SAID
In Burrell -v- Clifford [2016] EWHC 249 (Ch) Richard Spearman QC (sitting as a Deputy Judge of the Chancery Division) had to assess the credibility of two litigants. It provides an interesting insight into the judicial scrutiny of witness evidence….
COSTS, COPYING AND PROPORTIONALITY
The judgment of His Honour Judge Lochrane in Ryanair Limited -v- Secretary of State for the Home Department [2016] EWFC B5 has attracted some attention. Here I want to look at the short judgment in relation to costs. THE CASE…
LORD CHANCELLOR GETS A BONUS: THE POWERFUL RESULTS OF A CLAIMANT'S PART 36 OFFER
There are many interesting issues in the judgment of Mr Justice Holgate in The Lord Chancellor -v- Charles Ete & Co [2016] EWHC 275 (QB) which may be interesting to examine at a later date. However one significant point was…
DISCLOSURE AND PREDICTIVE CODING: PYHRRO EXPLAINED FOR THE TYRO
There has been much written already in relation to the decision of Master Matthews in Pyrrho Investments Ltd -v- MWB Property Ltd [2016] EWHC 256 (Ch) [see the links below]. However I want to concentrate upon the fact that this…