PLEADING OF SIMILAR FACT EVIDENCE STRUCK OUT: YOU CAN’T MILK OTHER CASES…
In Peter Sharp & Son (a Firm) v GEA Farm Technologies (UK) Ltd [2022] EWHC 64 (Ch) Deputy Master Raeburn considered issues relating to “similar fact” evidence and made an order preventing a claimant from adducing evidence in relation to other…
CASE STRUCK OUT DUE TO CLAIMANT’S INACTIVITY: YOU CAN’T “WAREHOUSE” A COURT ACTION
In Alfozan v Quastel Midgen LLP [2022] EWHC 66 (Comm) HHJ Pearce (sitting as a High Court judge) struck out an action on the grounds of the claimant’s delay. The case had been “warehoused” and the claimant had not adduced…
PROVING THINGS 221: THE COURT WILL NOT SPECULATE
In Hirst & Anor v Dunbar & Ors [2022] EWHC 41 (TCC) Mr Justice Eyre highlighted the need for a claimant to prove losses, and expenditure, the court will not speculate on items relating to expenditure. “In my judgement…
GLUTS AND BUNDLES: LOTS OF AUTHORITIES DON’T HELP: “THIS MUST NOT BE REPEATED IN ANY FUTURE COUNTY COURT TRIAL”
I am sure that our eminent housing bloggers and commentators will write about the important substantive judgment in the case of Rosebery Housing Association Ltd v Williams & Anor [2021] EW Misc 22 (CC). However this blog deals with only one…
JUDGES REFUSES TO GRANT RELIEF FROM SANCTIONS FOR DEFENDANTS WHO HAD “BURIED THEIR HEADS IN THE SAND”
In Vitrition UK Ltd v Caine & Ors [2022] EWHC 51 (Comm) HHJ Davis-White QC, sitting as a judge of the High Court, refused the defendants application for relief from sanctions following their failure to comply with an unless order…
AVOIDING PROCEDURAL PITFALLS IN PERSONAL INJURY LITIGATION: WEBINAR 20th JANUARY 2022
There are a number of cases reported today in relation to service of the claim form and relief from sanctions. This may be an appropriate time to remind people of the webinar on the 20th January 2020 “Avoiding Procedural Pitfalls…
SERVICE WITHOUT A SMILE: CLAIMANTS COME TO GRIEF IN THE COURT OF APPEAL: SENDING AN UNSEALED CLAIM FORM IS NOT GOOD SERVICE, THE CLAIMANTS COULD NOT RELY ON CPR 3.10
The first (but probably not the last) case on service of the claim form arrives in January, with the Court of Appeal decision in Ideal Shopping Direct Ltd & Ors v Mastercard Incorporated & Ors [2022] EWCA Civ 14. It…
APPLICATIONS FOR ADJOURNMENTS 1: MATCH NOT POSTPONED
Issues relating to adjournments are a regular feature of the search terms that lead to this blog. There are two recent cases where questions relating to adjournments were considered, the first we will look at is the judgment of Mr…
SHOULD A RESPONDENT RECEIVE HIS COSTS FOR BEING SENT TO PRISON? JUDGE CONSIDERS ISSUES AFTER CONTEMPT OF COURT HEARING
In Kea Investments Ltd v Watson [2022] EWHC 5 (Ch) Lord Justice Nugee considered the question of what costs order should be made after a respondent had been committed to prison for contempt. The applicant had succeeded on some, but…
DOMESTIC BUILDING LITIGATION AND PREVENTING FINANCIAL DISASTER: SUGGESTIONS FROM THE CIRCUIT BENCH
In The Sky’s the Limit Transformations Ltd v Mirza [2022] EWHC 29 (TCC) HHJ Stephen Davies makes a number of suggestions designed to mitigate the potentially ruinous costs of litigation in relation to domestic building disputes. ” … it would…
AN EXAMPLE OF A TRIAL WITH VULNERABLE WITNESSES: EACH WITNESS GIVEN A CLEAR ALLOCATED TIME TO GIVE THEIR EVIDENCE
This blog has looked, several times, at the judgment of Mr Justice Johnson in TVZ & Ors v Manchester City Football Club [2022] EWHC 7 (QB). It is also worth looking at for the explanation the judge gives as to the steps…
“EACH OF THE CLAIMANTS’ STATEMENTS TENDED TO TAKE THE FORM OF A STANDARD TEMPLATE”: THE PERILS OF IDENTICAL EVIDENCE
It may say a lot about contemporary litigation that the practice of numerous witnesses producing near identical witness statements is so common that I almost decided not to write about it. The practice was considered by HHJ Judge Hodge QC…
LIMITATION, SEXUAL ABUSE AND THE SECTION 33 DISCRETION: A FAIR TRIAL WAS NOT POSSIBLE AND CLAIMANTS’ ACTION DISMISSED
The previous post looked at the decision in TVZ & Ors v Manchester City Football Club [2022] EWHC 7 (QB) in relation to the issue of vicarious liability. However it is important to note that the claimants did not succeed in…
VICARIOUS LIABILITY AND SEXUAL ABUSE: THIS IS NOT A TEST OF INTUTION, BUT ONE THAT IS TIGHTLY CONTROLLED
The judgment of Mr Justice Johnson in TVZ & Ors v Manchester City Football Club [2022] EWHC 7 (QB) makes for difficult reading. The judge pays tribute to the remarkable men who brought the action, all of whom had been…
CONDUCT AND COSTS: SUCCESSFUL DEFENDANT RECOVERS – NOTHING
In European Real Estate Debt Fund (Cayman) Ltd v Treon & Ors [2021] EWHC 2866 (Ch) Mr Justice Miles considered issues relating to costs after a defendant had succeeded at trial because the claimant’s action was statute barred. The judge…
CAN LEADING COUNSEL RECOVER THEIR FULL BRIEF FEE WHEN A CASE SETTLES TWO WEEKS BEFORE TRIAL?
In Hankin v Barrington & Ors [2021] EWHC B1 (Costs) Deputy Master Campbell considered the question of whether leading counsel’s brief fee was payable in full (or in part) by the defendant when the brief had been delivered but the…
RELIEF FROM SANCTIONS APPLICATIONS: 10 MATTERS THAT WILL INCREASE THE PROSPECTS OF SUCCESS
Here I want to look at some practical matters which can help a party seeking relief from sanctions. This is guidance on the most prudent steps to take but it should be made clear that there are no easy options….
“WHAT IS THE POINT OF HANDLING A CASE FOR A COUPLE OF YEARS AND THEN FAILING TO PRESENT IT WELL TO THE COURT?”
This may be one of the few blogs that has a category “Trial Bundles”, with dozens of posts on this topic. It remains one of the most searched and read subjects on this site. Here I am revisiting a useful…
THE KEY POINTS OF DRAFTING WITNESS STATEMENTS: A GUIDE – FROM 1951: A HOMAGE TO JOHN MUNKMAN
There are several hundred posts on this site about the drafting of witness statements. These are usually written about because things have gone awry. The skill and effort involved in drafting a proper and appropriate witness statement are often overlooked. …
THE SCOPE OF A SOLICITORS ACT ASSESSMENT: DISPUTED EVIDENCE IS “GRIST TO THE MILL”
In Jones -v- Richard Slade & Co Ltd [2021] EWHC B28 (Costs) Costs Judge Rowley rejected the defendant’s application to strike out points of claim in a Solicitors Act application. The judge held that it was possible, in a hearing…