STRIKING OUT PART OF A WITNESS STATEMENTS: SOME PART OF THESE HAVE TO GO: HIGH COURT DECISION
The judgment of Mrs Justice Steyn in Vardy -v- Rooney & News Group Newspapers Ltd [2022] EWHC 946 (QB) also contains a consideration of an application to strike out part of the witness statement. There is a review of the…
RELIEF FROM SANCTIONS REQUIRED WHEN A PARTY SERVES A WITNESS SUMMARY AND NOT A WITNESS STATEMENT: SOME WITNESSES ALLOWED, OTHERS WERE NOT
The judgment of Mrs Justice Steyn in Vardy -v- News Group Newspapers Ltd [2022] EWHC 946 (QB) serves as a reminder that a party cannot simply serve witness summaries in place of witness statements. The judge granted relief from sanctions…
FISH FILES AND HOW TO FILLET THEM BEFORE THEY BITE AND YOUR PROBLEMS BECOME CAST IN STONE
I periodically write about fish files because I suspect they are the cause of a large percentage of procedural problems that arise in litigation. A “fish file” is a file that has been left for so long it has started…
THE NATIONAL ARCHIVES AND COURT JUDGMENTS: UP AND RUNNING
Court and Tribunal decisions are now freely available from The National Archives. THE PAGE The case law finder can be found here. THE PRESS RELEASE The press release explaining matters can be found here. NOTE THAT BAILII CARRIES ON …
JUDGE GRANTS SUMMARY JUDGMENT AGAINST CLAIMANT IN ACTION AGAINST SOLICITORS AND LEADING COUNSEL
In Coote -v- Ullstein [2022] EWHC 606 (QB) His Honour Judge Gosnell (sitting as a judge of the High Court) granted the defendants’ applications for summary judgment in relation to a professional negligence claim being brought against them. The judge…
PROVING THINGS 229: WHO BEARS THE BURDEN OF PROOF WHEN A CLAIMANT SEEKS DAMAGES GROSS OF TAXATION
We are returning for the second, but not the last, time to the judgment of Mrs Justice Hill in Mathieu v Hinds & Anor [2022] EWHC 924 (QB). The judge awarded an injured claimant damages for loss of earnings gross of tax. …
PROVING THINGS 228: PLEADING AND PROVING MITIGATION OF LOSS: THE NEED FOR A DEFENDANT TO ESTABLISH A “CONCRETE CASE”
The judgment of Mrs Justice Hill in Mathieu v Hinds & Anor [2022] EWHC 924 (QB) is interesting for a large number of reasons. Here we look at the judgment in relation to pleading and proving mitigation of loss. “A…
INTEREST ON COSTS: WHAT IS THE APPROPRIATE RATE TO BE PAID IN A CLAIM RELATING TO AN ESTATE
In Almond v Goff & Ors [2021] EWHC 1703 (Ch) Ms Clare Ambrose, sitting as a High Court judge, considered the appropriate rate of interest on costs in a claim concerning an estate. She rejected the argument that interest ran…
EXCESSIVE COSTS INCURRED IN ARGUING ABOUT COSTS: A PARTY OBTAINING RELIEF FROM SANCTIONS WAS CORRECTLY ORDERED TO PAY THE COSTS OF THE APPLICATION: “RULES EXIST FOR A REASON”
In Swivel UK Ltd v Tecnolumen GmbH & Anor [2022] EWHC 825 (Ch) Mr Justice Marcus Smith upheld the decision of a Master that a party that had obtained relief from sanctions should pay the costs of the application. It…
WITNESS STATEMENTS AND LANGUAGE DIFFICULTIES: JUDGE EXAMINES THE “MINEFIELD” FOR THE LITIGANT
In Bahia v Sidhu & Anor [2022] EWHC 875 (Ch) Mrs Justice Joanna Smith considered the problems that arose when a witness provided a statement in English but was not totally proficient in that language. The decision to provide the…
A SERIES OF WEBINARS ON FATAL ACCIDENT LITIGATION AND DAMAGES: JUNE 2022
There are a series of four webinars in June 2022 on key aspects of fatal accident litigation and damages. Looking at recent cases, the child claimant and fatal accidents, damages in anticipation of death and avoiding the pitfalls of fatal…
HIGH COURT ISSUES A WARNING TO THOSE PLEADING CLAIM FOR EXEMPLARY DAMAGES: THERE MUST BE A PROPER BASIS FOR SUCH A PLEA
In Underwood & Anor v Bounty UK Ltd & Anor [2022] EWHC 888 (QB) Mr Justice Nicklin sent out a warning about the pleading a claim for exemplary damages. Such claims should only be made where there is a proper…
“IT SHOULD BE UNDERSTOOD THAT DELIBERATE FLOUTING OF ORDERS, GUIDANCE AND PROCEDURE IS A FORM OF FORENSIC CHEATING AND SHOULD BE TREATED AS SUCH”
In Xanthopoulos v Rakshina [2022] EWFC 30 Mr Justice Mostyn considered some key aspects of procedure, including costs and transparency. Here we look at that part of the judgment that deals with compliance with the rules. “This utter disregard…
WHEN A WITNESS GIVES DIFFERENT ACCOUNTS IN DIFFERENT STATEMENTS IT RARELY HELPS THEIR CASE: JUDGE FINDS IT “UNIMPRESSIVE”
In Parry v Johnson & Anor (Rev1) [2022] EWHC 889 (QB) Mr Justice Ritchie considered the evidence of the defendant driver in a road traffic case. The defendant’s different accounts on different occasions did not help his cause. The judge…
THE COURT SHOULD ASSESS COSTS SUMMARILY NOW: BUT THEY ARE SUBJECT TO A “SIGNIFICANT HAIRCUT”
One of the things I regularly do on this blog is to post judgments relating to the summary assessment of costs. These are not readily available elsewhere and this type of judgment is very popular with readers. The judgment of…
COURT REFUSES DEFENDANT’S APPLICATION THAT DEFENDANT’S KENYAN WITNESSES SHOULD APPEAR BY VIDEO LINK:
In Jackson v Hayes & Jarvis (Travel) Ltd [2022] EWHC 453 (QB) Mrs Justice Eady refused the defendant’s application that its witnesses give evidence by video link from Kenya. “I am left with, on the one hand, an absence of…
JUDGE VARIES ORDER SO SUMMARY ASSESSMENT OF COSTS REPLACES DETAILED ASSESSMENT: COSTS SUMMARILY ASSESSED AT £7,250,000
In Pipia v Bgeo Group Ltd [2022] EWHC 846 (Comm) Mr Justice Henshaw took the unusual step of replacing an order for detailed assessment with an order for a summary assessment and then assessing the costs. THE CASE The defendant…
DEFENDANTS HAVE TO PAY COSTS OF ATE PREMIUM: DEEMED ORDER FOR COSTS FOLLOWING ACCEPTANCE OF PART 36 OFFER INCLUDES THE COSTS THE ATE PREMIUM
In Dance v East Kent University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust & Ors [2022] EWHC B9 (Costs) Costs Judge Leonard considered two ingenious arguments where the defendants attempted to avoid paying the claimant’s ATE premium. This involved consideration of the deemed…
LITIGATION FRIEND GAVE FALSE EVIDENCE AND WAS IN CONTEMPT OF COURT: “GOOD DAYS” DOES NOT EXPLAIN CLAIMANT’S LEADING THEATRICAL ROLES
In Hull University Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust v Colley [2022] EWHC 854 (QB) Mr Justice Bourne sentenced a litigation friend to six months in prison (suspended for two years) for giving false evidence in support of her daughter’s claim for…
APPLICATION FOR RELIEF FROM SANCTIONS REFUSED IN GROUP LITIGATION ORDER
In Baker & Ors v Volkswagen Aktiengesellschaft & Ors (VW NOx Emissions Group Litigation) [2022] EWHC 810 (QB) Senior Master Fontaine refused the applicants’ application for relief from sanctions in relation to their inclusion in a register for a Group…
THE COURT WILL GRANT A DECLARATION THAT AN ED SHEERAN SONG DID NOT BREACH COPYWRIGHT: OH WHY PUT YOURSELF THROUGH THIS
The judgment of Mr Justice Zacarolli in Sheeran & Ors v Chokri & Ors [2022] EWHC 827 (Ch) contains some observations as to why the court should grant a declaration that a song had not breached another composer’s copyright. The…
APPEALING FACTS IN THE COURT OF APPEAL: “ISLAND HOPPING” IS HARD TO DO
In Volpi & Anor v Volpi [2022] EWCA Civ 464 the Court of Appeal highlighted the difficulties an appellant faces when seeking to appeal findings of fact. Such appeals are not always unsuccessful, however the appellant faces a very difficult…
LEADING COUNSEL MAY HAVE BEEN IN CONTEMPT OF COURT: “LAWYERS INVOLVED IN CASES OF THIS KIND HAVE A PROFESSIONAL RESPONSIBILITY TO INFORM THEMSELVES ABOUT THE RULES AND ABIDE BY THEM”
There has been a number of judgments recently concerning the disclosure of embargoed judgments. The Court of Appeal decision in Griffiths v Tickle & Ors (Re Disclosure by Counsel for Appellant and Application by First Respondent) [2022] EWCA Civ 465…
IF YOU WANT HOURLY RATES HIGHER THAN THE GUIDELINE FIGURES YOU HAVE TO PROVIDE “A CLEAR AND COMPELLING JUSTIFICATION”: COURT OF APPEAL DECISION TODAY
In Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd & Ors v LG Display Co. Ltd & Anor (Costs) [2022] EWCA Civ 466 the Court of Appeal sent out a clear message that if a party wants hourly rates outside the guideline rates then…
ANOTHER FAILED SERVICE CASE: AGREEMENT TO ACCEPT SERVICE BY EMAIL DID NOT EXTEND TO DOCUMENTS ALREADY SENT
We have another case falling foul of the provisions in relation to service. In Allen v Mittal [2022] EWHC 762 (Ch) Deputy Insolvency and Companies Court Judge Agnello QC rejected an applicant’s arguments that an application had been served properly. …
ASSESSING WITNESS CREDIBILITY: CREDIBILITY IS NOT NECESSARILY THE SAME THING AS HONESTY
Here I want to discuss the issue of witness (and client) credibility. Many cases will turn on credibility and any litigator has to be able to make an assessment of this when taking a case on; before issuing proceedings and…
USING THE DAMAGES CLAIM PILOT PRACTICE DIRECTION FROM TODAY ONWARDS: SIGN UP AND SEE THE MOVIE
The HMCTS weekly update yesterday stated “From Monday 4 April 2022, legal professionals issuing claims for damages that fall under the scope of Practice Direction 51ZB should use the Damages Claim service on MyHMCTS.” SIGN UP Legal professionals acting for…
CLAIMANT’S APPLICATION FOR AN EXTENSION OF TIME TO SERVE PARTICULAR OF CLAIM REFUSED: A CASE THAT WAS IN THE “LAST CHANCE SALOON” FOR FAR TOO LONG
In CDE v Buckinghamshire County Council [2022] EWHC 738 (QB) Master Thornett rejected a claimant’s application for an extension of time for service of the particulars of claim. The action had a long history with a pattern of delay on…
UPDATE ON USEFUL LINKS ON STRESS, LAWYERS AND LAW: TIPS FOR A LESS STRESSFUL LIFE AND PRACTICE
Periodically I reproduce and update available guidance on stress for lawyers. Here are useful links to posts about preventing, and dealing with, stress as a lawyer and litigator. HELPFUL LINKS Ulaw blog considers research that looked at thousands of lawyers in…
TAILOR YOUR SUBMISSIONS TO KEEP TO TIME: A CODA TO A JUDGMENT – WITH A FAMILIAR THEME
There is another aspect of the judgment of Richard Salter QC (sitting as a Deputy Judge of the High Court) in Al Saud & Anor v Gibbs & Anor [2022] EWHC 706 (Comm) looked at earlier this week. A “Coda” to…
You must be logged in to post a comment.