LATE SERVICE OF WITNESS SUMMARIES: HERE’S AN INGENIOUS ARGUMENT – THAT DIDN’T WORK: PERMISSION TO ADDUCE ADDITIONAL EVIDENCE FROM PARTIES OWN WITNESS ALSO REFUSED
In Smith & Anor v Crawshay [2019] EWHC 2507 (Ch) HHJ Paul Matthews considered an argument that the defendant was allowed to rely on a witness summary. He also refused permission to adduce further evidence in evidence-in-chief from a witness…
SERVICE OF THE CLAIM FORM ISSUES, ANONYMITY, EXPEDITED TRIALS AND … SPEARMINT RHINO
I have been meaning to write more about anonymity and civil litigation, in particular orders made under CPR 16. This issue arose today in a surprising context in AAA -v- Rakoff [2019] EWHC 2525 (QB). The case raises issues in…
CPR 3.1 USED, PROPERLY AND EFFICIENTLY, TO KEEP DOWN THE WAITING (AND ANGUISH)
In Irish & Anor, Re [2019] EWHC 2508 (Ch) HHJ Matthews (sitting as a High Court Judge) used CPR 3.1 to cut down greatly the time (expense and anguish) in relation to a difficult and sensitive application. “it seemed to…
COURT OF APPEAL TO CONSIDER IMPACT OF TRANSFERRING CASE FROM LEGAL AID TO CFA:
I am grateful to Tom Jenkinson from Bolt Burdon Kemp for letting me know that the Court of Appeal has granted permission to appeal in the case of XDE v North Middlesex University Hospital Trust [2019] EWHC 1482 (QB) XDE…
CIVIL PROCEDURE, COSTS, EVIDENCE AND – DINOSAURS : A REVIEW OF THE MONTH – ARTICLES AND POSTS (SEPTEMBER 2019)
Every month I plan to provide links to useful articles and posts on civil procedure. I am happy for anyone to send me links that are relevant to the topics that this blog covers. (Links to posts does not constitute…
INTERIM PAYMENTS ON ACCOUNT OF COSTS: A RECENT EXAMPLE AND USEFUL LINKS
“Cashflow is the lifeblood of business”, is a common maxim. This applies in the legal profession as much as anywhere else. Interim payments on account of costs is an important issue for litigators and their clients. This was considered in…
YOUR CHANCE TO BECOME A CELEBRITY CHEF: THE BILLABLE HOUR CHARITY COOKBOOK: THAT’S HOW THE APPLE CRUMBLES
Want to become a famous celebrity chef? Ishan Kolhatkar is editing a 2019 Billable Hour Cookbook. Contributions are being sought from lawyers across the profession (and indeed throughout the world) . If you have any recipes that you want to…
DECODING THE LEGAL DIRECTORIES 2019: WITH A LITTLE HELP FROM MY FRIENDS…
It is Legal Directories Time of year. Here I (re)print an easy guide on how to interpret a directory entry, kindly provided by law lecturer John Bates. Can I also refer you to Wigapedia’s Language of the legal directory decoded:…
STOP ARGUING WITH THE JUDGE AFTER JUDGMENT IS GIVEN: POST-JUDGMENT SUBMISSIONS LEADS TO CASE GOING OFF THE RAILS
The judgment today in AR & ML [2019] EWFC 56 is of considerable importance to all those who seek to “re-argue” a case after judgment rather than appeal. Mostyn J attempts to put an end to what he identified as…
POINTS HAVE TO BE PLEADED: APPLICATION TO AMEND AT TRIAL CORRECTLY DISALLOWED: PLEADINGS ARE THERE TO ENSURE THAT THE ESSENTIAL ELEMENT OF EACH PARTY’S CASE ARE KNOWN
In Kensington Mortgage Company Ltd v Mallon & Ors [2019] EWHC 2512 (Ch) Sir Gerald Barling, sitting as a Judge of the High Court, dismissed an appeal against a judge’s refusal to consider a point that was not pleaded. The…
SERVE YOUR EVIDENCE IN RESPONSE VERY LATE IN THE DAY – WHAT IS THE COURT GOING TO THINK?
In Gregory & Anor v Moore & Ors [2019] EWHC 2430 (Ch) Chief Master Marsh commented upon evidence served in response, but very late in the day. In the absence of an explanation in relation to late service the Master…
AMENDMENT OF CLAIM TO JOIN A NEW PARTY WHEN THERE IS AN ISSUE OVER LIMITATION: APPEAL AGAINST JOINDER ALLOWED
In Trainer v Cramer Pelmont (a firm) [2019] EWHC 2501 (QB) Mr Justice Walker examines the provisions of s14A of the Limitation Act in considerable detail. This is one of those judgments that is likely to be authoritative for years…
AUTOMATICALLY CREATED NAME AT THE FOOT OF AN EMAIL CREATES BINDING CONTRACT TO SELL LAND: “MANY THANKS” FOR THIS
The judgment of HHJ Pearce in Neocleous & Anor v Rees [2019] EWHC 2462 (Ch) is not about procedure. However it is a judgment that many litigators must become familiar with. An automatically generated name at the end of an…
LAWYERS GIVING EVIDENCE 3: THE SOLICITOR (GIVING EVIDENCE WHILST REPRESENTING HIS CLIENTS) HAD BECOME FAR TOO CLOSE TO THE CASE TO BE OBJECTIVE
In the third post on the dangers of lawyers giving evidence we are looking at the judgment of Recorder Monty QC in Afia v Mellor & Anor [2013] EW Misc 23 (CC). The only witness called for the defendants was…
PROVING THINGS 162: WHEN THE GOVERNMENT DOESN’T HAVE THE COMMONS TOUCH
Constitutional lawyers will be writing about the Supreme Court decision today for decades to come. However I want to look at the more basic issue of the evidence that was placed before the courts. This was not a case…
SUPREME COURT JUDGMENT TODAY: LINKS TO JUDGMENT AND SUMMARY
The judgment and summary of the Supreme Court judgment today in Cherry -v- Advocate General for Scotland can be found here.
LAWYERS GIVING EVIDENCE 2: “HARD TO FATHOM” WHY THE SOLICITOR WAS TENDERED AS A WITNESS
In the second post about the dangers of lawyers giving evidence we turn to the judgment of Master Marsh in Pineport Limited -v- Grangeglen Ltd [2016] EWHC 1318 (Ch). This was a relief from forfeiture hearing in which the only witness…
LAWYERS GIVING EVIDENCE 1: ENGAGING “TOTALLY INAPPROPRIATELY WITH LEGAL SUBMISSIONS”
An earlier post reported on the dangers of lawyers giving evidence when that “evidence” is in fact a set of legal submissions. It is clear that this issue is not confined to one jurisdiction. This can be seen from the…
CLAIMS FOR DAMAGES: WHY JUDGES GO “BACK TO BASICS”: A REMINDER FOR LITIGATORS
This is the first of a series of posts designed (to be frank) to remind people that the next edition of “Damages for Personal Injury and Death” will be published later this year. One interesting aspect of writing a book,…
“WHAT’S THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN A SKELETON ARGUMENT AND A WITNESS STATEMENT?” NOW THERE’S A QUESTION…
That very question “the difference between a skeleton argument and a witness statement” appeared in a search that led someone to this blog today. It may be worrying that someone has to ask. The important distinction is often ignored. Day…