THE OTHER AMENDMENT TO THE FATAL ACCIDENTS ACT 1976: COHABITEES MAY HAVE TO SHARE BEREAVMENT AWARD WITH PARENTS
There is another amendment made to the Fatal Accidents Act 1976 in relation to the people entitled to receive a bereavement award. This is quite technical, but could be important in a very limited class of cases. The amendment is…
UNSUCCESSFUL APPEAL “TO ESTABLISH THE LIBERTY OF INEBRIATED ENGLISH SUBJECTS TO BE ALLOWED TO LIE UNDISTURBED IN THEIR OWN VOMIT SOAKED CLOTHING”
In Pile v Chief Constable of Merseyside Police [2020] EWHC 2472 (QB) Mr Justice Turner dismissed the claimant’s appeal. The claimant complained that police officers had removed her outer clothing and provided her with dry clothing at a time when…
CHANGES IN FATAL ACCIDENT ACT: STATUTORY BEREAVEMENT AWARD EXTENDED TO COHABITEES
The Fatal Accidents Act 1976 (Remedial) Order 2020 comes into force on the 6th October 2020. It extends the scope of people entitled to the statutory bereavement award, extending it to cohabitees. THE ORDER The Order inserts the term…
CIVIL PROCEDURE BACK TO BASICS 84: HOW NOT TO MAKE A PART 36 OFFER THAT IS NOT VALID:
You may not care to believe it but the title of this post is deliberate, there is a double negative and a lack of clarity. This reflects the ambiguities and uncertainties in many of the attempts at Part 36 offers…
FAKE LAW AND “COMPENSATION CULTURE”: A REVIEW: “SPEND HALF-AN-HOUR WITH A PERSONAL INJURY LAWYER (SHOULD THAT MISFORTUNE BEFALL YOU)”
The Secret Barrister has written their second book “Fake Law”, looking at many of the misconceptions that surround the legal system. Here are selected extracts from the chapter on “Your Health”. It takes a critical look at the way in…
WITNESS EVIDENCE AND COUNTER-SCHEDULE STRUCK OUT AS INADMISSIBLE: THE PRINCIPLES APPLIED
In Rahman v Rahman & Ors [2020] EWHC 2392 (Ch) Master Clark struck out part of the defendants’ witness evidence and counter-schedule. The judgment provides a useful summary of when the court will strike out evidence and statements of case….
SETTING ASIDE A REGULAR JUDGMENT: TWO HURDLES FOR THE APPLICANT TO CLEAR – AND EVEN THEN THERE CAN BE CONDITIONS
The judgment of Master Kaye in Penta Ultimate Holdings Ltd & Anor v Storrier [2020] EWHC 2400 (Ch) is a reminder that a party attempting to set aside a regular judgment has two hurdles to clear: the test set out…
PART 18 REQUEST FOR INFORMATION ABOUT DAMAGES REFUSED: “NEITHER REASONABLE OR PROPORTIONATE”
In Kings Security Systems Ltd v King & Anor [2019] EWHC 3620 (Ch) Master Kaye refused an application that a party provide further information in relation to damages. “Part 18 requests should be for the purpose of providing further information…
JUDGE SHOULD NOT HAVE GRANTED DEFENDANT PERMISSION TO WITHDRAW FROM ADMISSIONS: CHANGE OF LAW DID NOT JUSTIFY CHANGE OF STANCE
In the judgment today in J v A South Wales Local Authority [2020] EWHC 2362 (Admin) Mr Justice Marcus Smith overturned a decision granting a defendant permission to withdraw admissions. “ changes in the law are to be anticipated, particularly…
COURT MAKES 5% REDUCTION IN SUCCESSFUL CLAIMANT’S COSTS RATHER THAN AN ISSUE BASED COSTS ORDER
This is the fourth look this blog looks at the judgment in Essex County Council v UBB Waste (Essex) Ltd (No. 3) [2020] EWHC 2387. This time we are looking at the question of whether there should be a deduction in…
CHILDREN AND PERSONAL INJURY LITIGATION: WEBINAR 5th OCTOBER 2020
This webinar looks at practical issues relating to children and personal injury litigation, including liability, damages and procedure. Details of how to book are available here. This webinar looks at the practical implications of acting for children injured in…
DEFENDANT’S CONDUCT OF THE CASE LED TO INDEMNITY COSTS BEING PAID: MAKING ALLEGATIONS OF “NOT ACTING IN GOOD” FAITH: A SPECULATIVE & WEAK CASE: EXPERTS WITH A CONFLICT OF INTEREST
This is the third (but not the last) look at the judgment on costs in Essex County Council v UBB Waste (Essex) Ltd (No. 3) [2020] EWHC 2387. The judge held that the defendant’s conduct of the case was such that…
DID A CLAIMANT DO BETTER THAN ITS OWN PART 36 OFFER? THE SECOND PART OF THE ESSEX CASE
Continuing with the issues about Part 36 in Essex County Council v UBB Waste (Essex) Ltd (No. 3) [2020] EWHC 2387 (TCC) looked at in the earlier post. The judge went on to consider whether the claimant had, in fact,…
DATE ON LETTER DID NOT PREVENT IT BEING A VALID PART 36 OFFER: NO ESTOPPEL IN THE CONSTRUCTION OF PART 36 OFFERS: HIGH COURT DECISION TODAY
In Essex County Council v UBB Waste (Essex) Ltd (No. 3) [2020] EWHC 2387 (TCC) Mr Justice Pepperall considered arguments relating to the validity of Part 36 offers. He found that the offer the claimant made was a valid Part…
RELIEF FROM SANCTIONS WOULD HAVE BEEN GRANTED (IF IT WAS NECESSARY) WHERE BREACH OF A PEREMPTORY ORDER WAS NOT SERIOUS OR SIGNIFICANT
In Kazakhstan Kagazy Plc & Ors v Zhunus & Ors [2020] EWHC 2431 (Comm) Mr Justice Henshaw held that a defendant had not breached a peremptory order and relief from sanctions was not required. However he indicated that if there…
SENSIBLE COVID PRECAUTIONS TAKEN WHEN IMPLEMENTING A SEARCH ORDER: APPLICANT TAKES A VERY NUANCED APPROACH
The judgment of Mr Justice Fordham in Calor Gas Ltd v Chorley Bottle Gas Ltd & Anor [2020] EWHC 2426 (QB) has some interesting observations about the way in which COVID affects both the way a hearing is held and…
FOOD FOR THOUGHT: THE BILLABLE HOUR COOKBOOK 2020: A CALL FOR RECIPES: BAKE YOUR CAKE AND THEN EAT IT…
There is to be a 2020 Billable Hour cookbook. There is now a call for recipes covering a wide range of the culinary spectrum: vegetarian, vegan,meat, fish, desserts and cakes. Details of how to submit your recipes are available here. …
CIVIL PROCEDURE BACK TO BASICS 83: PART 18 REQUESTS FOR FURTHER INFORMATION
Part 18 requests are often misused. The Practice Direction states “A Request should be concise and strictly confined to matters which are reasonably necessary and proportionate to enable the first party to prepare his own case or to understand the…
PROVING DAMAGES IN A FATAL CASE: THE COURT SHOULD LOOK AT THE “PRACTICAL REALITY”: WIDOW DID HAVE A FINANCIAL DEPENDENCY WHERE HUSBAND HAD RUN A SUCCESSFUL BUSINESS
In Rix v Paramount Shopfitting Company Ltd [2020] EWHC 2398 (QB) Mr Justice Cavangh considered and applied an important principle in fatal accident damages. The fact that the deceased person was running a successful business, and it went on trading …
JUDGE WAS RIGHT TO REFUSE CLAIMANT’S APPLICATION TO ADJOURN AND NOT TO ALLOW SINGLE WITNESS IN PLACE OF JOINT WITNESS: HIGH COURT DECISION TODAY
In Hinson v Hare Realizations Ltd (2) [2020] EWHC 2386 (QB) Mr Justice Martin Spencer refused a claimant’s appeal where it was argued that a trial judge should have adjourned a trial and given the claimant permission to rely on…