COURT OF APPEAL OVERTURNS DECISION THAT THERE SHOULD BE NO ORDER FOR COSTS: COMMITTAL APPLICATIONS ARE NOT SUBJECT TO ANY SPECIAL RULES
In Loveridge & Anor v Loveridge [2021] EWCA Civ 1697 the Court of Appeal overturned a decision that should be no order for costs following the withdrawal of committal proceedings. The Court also allowed costs on the indemnity basis from…
TO HELP YOU OVER A WINTER, A SERIES OF WEBINARS ON APPLICATIONS, LIABILITY, INSOLVENCY, PLEADINGS AND AVOIDING PROBLEMS IN LITIGATION
I am presenting a series of webinars on several aspects of litigation over December, January and February. All are one hour long. General details can be found here. The links to specific webinars can be found below. APPLICATIONS AND…
MODERN SLAVERY AND THE LIABILITY OF AN INSURER: COURT REJECTS ARGUMENT THAT INSURERS ARE LIABLE TO INDEMNIFY “EMPLOYERS” IN MODERN SLAVERY CASE
In the decision today in Komives & Anor v Hick Lane Bedding Ltd & Anor [2021] EWHC 3139 (QB) Mrs Justice May refused the claimants’ appeal on the issue of whether an insurer was entitled to avoid an employer’s liability…
IF YOU ARE APPLYING FOR RELIEF FROM SANCTIONS “OWN YOUR MISTAKES”: YOU HAVE TO SERVE THE PARTICULARS OF CLAIM WITHIN FOUR MONTHS: CLAIMANT IN ERROR, BUT RELIEF FROM SANCTIONS GRANTED
The judgment in Holterman v Electrium Sales Ltd & Anor [2020] EWHC 3915 (TCC) shows a “classic” error in relation to service of proceedings. The claimant served the claim form at the end of the relevant period, and the particulars…
DENTON PRINCIPLES CONSIDERED IN APPLICATION TO APPEAL OUT OF TIME : PERMISSION GRANTED
In Kumar v Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy & Anor [2021] EWHC 2965 (Ch) ICC Judge Barber considered the Denton principles in an application for permission to appeal out of time. The appellant’s application was granted….
THE NEED FOR A CLAIMANT TO PROVE INJURY: WITHOUT EVIDENCE THE ACTION SHOULD NOT HAVE BEEN BROUGHT
The earlier post on proving causation highlights the matters that claimants need to prove when bringing a claim for damages. One essential element is that a claimant needs to prove damages. One case that shows a clear illustration of this…
PROVING THINGS 218: THE NEED TO PROVE CAUSATION IN ADDITION TO BREACH OF DUTY
The Court of Appeal judgment in Cunningham v Rochdale Metropolitan Borough Council [2021] EWCA Civ 1719 highlights the need to prove issues of causation in addition to breach of duty. THE CASE The claimant is a teacher who was attacked…
PART 36 OFFER STILL VALID EVEN IF SERVED BY EMAIL: DEFENDANT DID NOT HAVE TO PAY THE USUAL PART 36 CONSEQUENCES
In London Trocadero (2015) LLP v Picturehouse Cinemas Ltd & Ors [2021] EWHC 3103 (Ch) Robin Vos, sitting as a High Court Judge, held that a Part 36 was still valid even if served by email. However, on the facts…
PRISING LAWYERS AWAY FROM THEIR COMFORT BLANKET WHEN DRAFTING WITNESS STATEMENTS: A DETAILED CONSIDERATION OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR WITNESS STATEMENTS AND PD57AC
In the judgment this morning in Blue Manchester Ltd v Bug-Alu Technic GmbH & Anor [2021] EWHC 3095 (TCC) HHJ Stephen Davies (sitting as a High Court Judge) carried out a detailed consideration of the rules relating to witness statements…
“NO SERIOUS PRIVATE PAYING LITIGANT” WOULD CONTEMPLATE SPENDING £50,000 IN COSTS FOR A £3,000 CLAIM: ACTION SHOULD NEVER HAVE BEEN ISSUED IN THE HIGH COURT
In Johnson v Eastlight Community Homes Ltd [2021] EWHC 3069 (QB) Master Thornett accepted, in large part, a defendant’s application in a case where a claim for £3,000 had been issued in the High Court and the costs claimed by…
PROVING DAMAGES: WEBINAR 25th NOVEMBER 2021
At the moment there are 217 individual posts in the “Proving Things” series on this blog. Many, if not most, of the posts relate to a failure by a party to prove a crucial piece of their case at trial….
COURT OF APPEAL GUIDANCE ON REDACTION OF DOCUMENTS: OBJECTIONS SHOULD BE MADE WELL AHEAD OF TRIAL
In Promontoria (Oak) Ltd v Emanuel & Ors [2021] EWCA Civ 1682 the Court of Appeal set out some guidance in relation to the approach of the courts when documents are redacted. In particular issues relating to redaction should not…
THE COURT OF APPEAL AND FAILURE TO PAY THE TRIAL FEE: RELIEF FROM SANCTIONS GRANTED EVEN THOUGH NO FORMAL APPLICATION WAS BEFORE THE COURT
In the judgment in Boodia v Yatsyna [2021] EWCA Civ 1705 the Court of Appeal allowed a decision that a Circuit Judge had made with a heavy heart. The judgment reviews the cases in relation to non-payment, or late payment,…
THE INTOXICATED PASSENGER AND ESTABLISHING CONTRIBUTORY NEGLIGENCE: COURT OF APPEAL DECISION
In Campbell v Advantage Insurance Company Ltd [2021] EWCA Civ 1698 the Court of Appeal upheld a finding that a claimant could be contributory negligent even when drunk. However it is important that the facts of this case are looked…
HELPING THE BEREAVED CLIENT: USEFUL LINKS AND GUIDANCE 2021
On Friday Hilary Wetherell and I spent the day giving the APIL course on Fatal Accidents remotely (the course is still available on demand). The course deals a lot with the law and procedural aspects of fatal accidents. However it also…
THE SOLICITOR, SOCIAL MEDIA AND THE DUTY TO DISCLOSE: WHEN A SOLICITOR ADVISES THAT DOCUMENTS BE DELETED OR HIDDEN…
There is an interesting/alarming report of an (unnamed) case on Kennedy’s website here, as part of a general discussion about wasted costs. Discussing issues relating to fundamental dishonesty there is an account of a recent case where a claim had…
SOLICITOR SHOULD NOT HAVE BEEN COMPELLED TO ATTEND COURT TO GIVE EVIDENCE IN A WASTED COSTS APPLICATION
In Hunt v Annolight Ltd & Ors [2021] EWCA Civ 1663 the Court of Appeal overturned a decision that a solicitor should be compelled to attend court to give evidence in a wasted costs application. “Any requirement for a solicitor…
EXCEPTIONS TO THE FIXED COSTS REGIME: ANOTHER EXAMPLE
Yesterday we looked the case of Lloyd 2 Sisters Poultry Ltd (Costs) [2019] EW Misc 18 HHJ in relation to exceptional circumstances and fixed costs. Bailli has another example in the case of Crompton v Meadowcroft (Costs) [2021] EW Misc 20….
EXCEPTIONS TO THE FIXED COSTS REGIME: DEFENDANT’S APPEAL DISALLOWED: JUDGE ENTITLED TO FIND THAT EXCEPTIONAL CIRCUMSTANCES APPLIED
A case, newly arrived on BAILII today relates to whether a District Judge was correct to award costs outside the fixed costs regime. In Lloyd 2 Sisters Poultry Ltd (Costs) [2019] EW Misc 18 HHJ Howells refused a defendant’s appeal…
RELIEF FROM SANCTIONS GRANTED FOR LATE SERVICE OF ACKNOWLEDGMENT OF SERVICE: A POINT FOR DEFENDANTS TO WATCH
There are two point missed, surprisingly often, by defendants who want to take a point as to service. The first is that an acknowledgment of service must be served timeously, the second is that an application under CPR Part 11…
ADVOCACY THE JUDGE’S VIEW SERIES: “THE ROLE OF THE SOLICITOR IN THE CASE HAS ASSUMED GREAT IMPORTANCE”
The blog is getting to the age when I feel free to repeat things. Reader numbers have increased over the years and I am selecting posts of general application, rather than contemporary case law. We are looking again at the…
CHALLENGE TO JURISDICTION OF THE COURT WAS AN APPROPRIATE STEP IN AN ACTION BROUGHT BY A “REDUNDANT” SOLDIER
There is a procedural issue considered in the judgment of Mr Justice Martin Spencer in Malone v Ministry of Defence [2021] EWHC 2958 (QB). The judge held that it was appropriate for the Ministry of Defence, facing a claim in…
ACCURATE TIME ESTIMATES: A RECAP: THIS MAY GO ON A BIT…
The post last week in relation to inaccurate time estimates led to some comments that there was an absence of guidance on time estimates. I am not sure this is true. There are at least half a dozen posts on…
DEFENDANT WHO DID NOT FILE A REVISED COSTS BUDGET COULD NOT (NECESSARILY) RECOVER THE COSTS OF A COUNTERCLAIM
In Bhat & Anor v Patel & Anor [2021] EWHC 2960 (Ch) Mrs Justice Fancourt held that defendants, who had not filed a revised costs budget, were not entitled to recover the costs of that counterclaim unless a relief from…
TIME ESTIMATES: “WILDLY OPTIMISTIC TO THE POINT OF ABSURDITY”: AN UNHAPPY JUDGE
In E v B (Interim Maintenance Inaccurate Time Estimate) [2021] EWFC 90 Recorder Chandler made some observations on the difficulties the courts face when the parties list hearings with inadequate time estimates. These are matters of general interest relating to…
WHEN THE DEFENDANT DESTROYS DOCUMENTS AFTER BEING NOTIFIED OF A CLAIM: A “BOMBSHELL” FOLLOWED BY “RADIO SILENCE”: HIGH COURT DECISION
I am grateful to solicitor Thomas Jervis from Leigh Day for bringing my attention to the judgment of Mr Justice Martin Spencer in Ayannuga & Ors v One Shot Products Ltd [2021] EWHC 2930 (QB). The judge was considering the…
WHEN THINGS GO WRONG IN LITIGATION – SEEK HELP
Periodically I draw people’s attention to material that will help them deal with the stresses of litigation. Today the article by John Hyde on an overworked solicitor using a client’s damages to make payments on other cases leads me to…
WHEN A WITNESS CHANGES A KEY PART OF THEIR EVIDENCE WHILST GIVING EVIDENCE AT TRIAL: THIS DOES NOT END WELL
In Murphy v Milton Keynes Parks Trust Ltd & Anor [2021] EWHC 2917 (QB) HHJ Crane considered that (relatively familiar) scenario of a party giving new evidence at the date of the trial. The claimant, it must be emphasised, was…
DISCLOSURE AND DOCUMENTARY EVIDENCE: WEBINAR 19th NOVEMBER 2021
There are many cases on disclosure on this blog. Almost invariably these involve something going wrong. For example in Haider v DSM Demolition Ltd [2019] EWHC 2712 (QB) the court, on appeal, found that a claimant had been fundamentally honest…
DEFENDANT REFUSED PERMISSION TO WITHDRAW FIGURES SET OUT IN COUNTER-SCHEDULE
The judgment of Mr Justice Ritchie in Haggerty-Garton & Ors v Imperial Chemical Industries Ltd [2021] EWHC 2924 (QB) is interesting in that it shows the application of Scottish principles of damages to a fatal case (the award was much…
EXPERT HAD A “FLAGRANT DISREGARD FOR HIS DUTY TO THE COURT”: ORDERED TO PAY £50,500 WASTED COSTS
NB – THE COSTS ORDER AGAINST THE EXPERT IN THIS CASE WAS OVERTURNED ON APPEAL. THE JUDGMENT ON APPEAL CAN BE FOUND HERE. The judgment of Recorder Hudson in Robinson -v- Liverpool University Hospital NHS Foundation Trust & Dr Chris…
INSURER’S APPLICATION TO SET ASIDE DEFAULT JUDGMENT REFUSED ON THE BASIS OF INEXCUSABLE DELAY
In Mann v Towarzystwo Ubezpieczen Inter Polska SA & Ors [2021] EWHC 2913 (QB) Master Thornett refused an insurer’s application to set aside judgment on the grounds that the application was not made “promptly”. THE CASE The claimant brought…
WHEN YOUR CASE LARGELY RELIES ON EXPERT EVIDENCE: MAKE SURE YOUR EXPERT IS NOT VIEWED AS BEING PARTISAN
The judgment of Mrs Justice Moulder today in ECU Group PLC v HSBC Bank PLC & Ors [2021] EWHC 2875 (Comm) contains another example of the dangers of relying on expert evidence. The judge did not accept the evidence of…
FATAL ACCIDENT DAMAGES: A CLAIM FOR SERVICES CAN BE BASED ON THE COSTS OF COMMERCIAL REPLACEMENT – WITHOUT DISCOUNT
The Court of Appeal decision in Steve Hill Ltd v Witham [2021] EWCA Civ 1312 contains an important consideration of the basis upon which claims for loss of services are calculated in a fatal accident case. FATAL ACCIDENT -…
“THE ONLY BENEFICIARIES FROM THIS NIHILISTIC LITIGATION HAVE BEEN THE SPECIALIST AND HIGH-QUALITY LAWYERS”: A FAMILY LAW CASE, POSTED WITHOUT COMMENT
Occasionally, very occasionally, this blog trespasses into the area of family law. This is usually about costs or evidence. Today it is about costs, the comments of Mr Justice Peel in Crowther v Crowther & Ors (Financial Remedies) [2021] EWFC…
WITNESS STATEMENT IN RESPONSE TO EVIDENCE GIVEN IN TRIAL NOT PERMITTED: COURT ANXIOUS TO AVOID A NEVER ENDING SPIRAL
In Brake & Ors v The Chedington Court Estate Ltd (New Witness Statement) [2021] EWHC 2882 (Ch) HHJ Paul Matthews refused an application for permission to adduce an additional witness statement. “Of course, it is natural for litigants to…
THE JUDGMENT IN JALLA -V- SHELL: THE JUDGMENT OF LORD JUSTICE UNDERHILL: THE ABSENCE OF ANY EXPLANATION FOR DELAY
The case of Jalla & Anor v Shell International Trading And Shipping Co. Ltd & Anor (Appeal 3: Refusal to Extend Time) [2021] EWCA Civ 1559 was covered in the previous post. It is worthwhile looking at the shorter judgment…
COURT OF APPEAL UPHOLDS DECISION NOT TO EXTEND TIME FOR COMPLIANCE WITH COURT ORDER: 28,000 CLAIMS BITE THE DUST
In the decision today in Jalla & Anor v Shell International Trading And Shipping Co. Ltd & Anor (Appeal 3: Refusal to Extend Time)[2021] EWCA Civ 1559 the Court of Appeal upheld a decision not to grant extensions of time…
IS A CLUB YARD A “PUBLIC PLACE”? REVERSE SUMMARY JUDGMENT GRANTED TO INSURER DEFENDANTS
In Brown v Fisk & Ors [2021] EWHC 2769 (QB) Master Dagnall granted reverse summary jugment to an insurer defendant. This involved consideration of whether a yard was a “public place” under s.151 of the Road Traffic Act 1988. THE…
CLAIMANT WAS VICTIM OF FRAUD BUT ITS ACTION IS STATUTE BARRED: SECTION 32 (1) OF THE LIMITATION ACT 1980 CONSIDERED
In European Real Estate Debt Fund (Cayman) Ltd v Treon & Ors [2021] EWHC 2866 (Ch) Mr Justice Miles made many findings adverse to the defendants. However the claim failed because it was statute barred. The judgment considers the issue…
IN THE RUN UP TO HALLOWEEN 4: THE “TOP 10” THINGS THAT KEEP LAWYERS AWAKE AT NIGHT
Last year I did a Top 10 of lawyer’s nightmares. The intervening year has not changed much, although there may be more emphasis on the failure of remote hearing platforms… We’ll start with every lawyer’s nightmare. Alastair David Time limits!!…
SURVEILLANCE EVIDENCE IN PERSONAL INJURY CASES: WEBINAR 4th NOVEMBER 2021
On the 4th November I am giving a webinar on surveillance evidence. Booking details are available here. This webinar deals with practice and procedure in relation to the production of surveillance evidence in personal injury cases and looks at: The…
RECORDING COURT PROCEEDING WITHOUT PERMISSION: THE PROBLEM ARISES – AGAIN
In Business Mortgage Finance 4 Plc & Ors v Hussain & Ors [2021] EWHC 2766 (Ch) Mr Justice Miles gave a judgment in another case where a party had recorded proceedings without permission. Permission was given retrospectively, however this was…
INTERPRETERS, REMOTE HEARINGS AND A FAIR TRIAL: HIGH COURT APPEAL DECISION
In Gholizadeh v Sarfraz [2021] EWHC 2814 (Ch) Mr Justice Miles considered the issue of fairness when witnesses, giving evidence remotely, did not use a translator. We have a situation where the defendant’s representatives stated, openly, prior to trial that…
IN THE RUN UP FROM HALLOWEEN 3: SCARY STUFF FROM “THE OTHER SIDE”
This time we are looking at guidance from 2018 This year we are looking at annoying things from “the other side”. That can mean from beyond the grave, or those people who are instructed to represent your client’s opponents (they…
SECRETARY OF STATE DEFENDANT MUST PAY THE ADDITIONAL LIABILITY AFTER IT FAILED TO BEAT A PART 36 OFFER ON COSTS: THE “PUBLIC PURSE” HAS NO SPECIAL STATUS AS A LITIGANT
In TT, R (On the Application Of) v Secretary of State for the Home Department [2021] EWHC B21 (Costs) Deputy Master Campbell found that the Secretary of State was liable to pay an additional sum when it failed to beat…
APPEAL WAS OUT OF TIME DUE TO FAILURE TO USE EFILING: A POINT TO WATCH
The judgment of Eason Rajah QC (sitting as a Judge of the Chancery Division)in Walker v The Official Receiver [2021] EWHC 2868 (Ch) highlights a problem with appeals in the Chancery Division. The appellant had problems because an appeal was to…
LATE, AND BROAD, APPLICATION TO RELY ON EXPERT EVIDENCE REFUSED: HIGH COURT DECISION
In BES Commercial Electricity Ltd & Ors v Cheshire West & Chester Council [2021] EWHC 2820 (QB) Mr Justice Calver refused a very late application to adduce expert evidence. The commentary in relation to witness statements is also interesting. The…
IN THE RUN UP TO HALLOWEEN 2: DEADLINES, COURTS AND IMPOSTER SYNDROME
In the run up to Halloween we continue our look back on posts about “scary subjects”. Here is one of the first series of group contributions, from 2017, where contributors from legal Twitter wrote about what scared them most. “Emailing…
IN THE RUN UP TO HALLOWEEN: MISSIVES FROM THE BENCH: “THAT ONE’S HALF BLIND AND HALF DEAF. I CALL HIM THE COURT OF APPEAL”
In the run up to Halloween I thought I would repeat some of the “scary” posts on this blog. Here we look at a post from November 2018, a collection of Twitter comments about judicial interventions. “DJ Tynas at Macclesfield…
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