COURT OF APPEAL SANCTIONS HEARING: SUBMISSIONS IN UTILISE -V- DAVIES
The final tranche of the notes taking at the hearing of the sanctions cases yesterday. The case of Utilise -v- Davies. Discussion of the first instance decision can be found in this blog as can a link to the transcript….
RELIEF FROM SANCTIONS FOLLOWING FAILURE TO FILE FUNDING INFORMATION AT START OF COSTS ASSESSMENT: MERCANTILE COURT DECISION
In Warner -v- Merrett (QBD Merc 12/6/2014) Judge Mackie QC granted relief from sanctions following a failure to serve documents relating to serve documents relating to additional liabilities at the outset of a detailed costs assessment. The case was briefly…
RELIEF FROM SANCTIONS GRANTED AFTER LATE SERVICE OF WITNESS SUMMARY: HIGH COURT CASE CONSIDERED
Whilst the Court of Appeal ruminates over the problems caused by Mitchell life goes on at the procedural coalface. Attached to this post is a decision of Mr. N. Strauss Q.C. sitting as a Deputy High Court Judge on the…
SANCTIONS CASE TODAY: SUBMISSIONS AND DISCUSSIONS FROM THE LAW SOCIETY AND BAR COUNCIL
The Bar Council and the Law Society were invited to make submissions at the sanctions hearings in the Court of Appeal today. The discussions between the Bar and the Bench make fascinating reading. (Mr Holland QC for both the Bar…
SANCTIONS HEARING TODAY: NOTES OF THE HEARING IN DECADENT VAPOURS
DECADENT VAPOURS LIMITED V BEVAN Heard by the Court of Appeal on 16th June 2014 (Lord Justice Dyson MR) (Lord Justice Jackson) (Lord Justice Vos) APPELLANT/CLAIMANT’S SUBMISSION In the present case the appellant appeals a decision to refuse relief from…
COURT OF APPEAL HEARING TODAY: DETAILED NOTE OF SUBMISSIONS AND DISCUSSIONS AT THE COURT
The Court of Appeal hearing on sanctions after Mitchell goes on. Here I outline, in detail, the submissions and discussions in Denton. Other cases will follow. DENTON AND OTHERS V T H WHITE LIMITED Heard by the Court of…
DRAFT JUDGMENTS MUST NOT BE DISCLOSED: COURT OF APPEAL EXPRESSES ITS VIEWS IN STRONGEST POSSIBLE TERMS
Draft judgments are often sent to parties in advance. These are sent on confidential terms in O’Connell -v- Rollings [2014] EWCA Civ 806 the Court of Appeal made it clear that wider disclosure of drafts should not be made. THE JUDGMENT…
SANCTIONS CASES: SUMMARY OF ARGUMENTS THIS MORNING
Here is a very brief summary of the arguments considered by the Court of Appeal in the cases on sanctions this morning. A useful summary is also being provided by @JohnHyde1982 on twitter. Lord Justices Jackson, Dyson and Voss are…
PROCEDURE: THINGS TO WATCH OUT FOR MONDAY & TUESDAY ON THIS BLOG & TWITTER
There are important developments this week. You should be able to follow those on this blog or the associated twitter account @CivilLitTweet. COURT OF APPEAL HEARING ON RELIEF FROM SANCTIONS I hope that the arguments employed in the Court of…
PORTAL ISSUES: WHAT HAPPENS IF THE DEFENDANT DOESN'T PAY THE COSTS?
It is clear that a new jurisprudence is developing around behaviour in, or around, the portal. A previous post looked at how the court will construe procedural issues arising out of the portal. I am grateful to Tom Melville of…
TWO DAYS LATE SERVICE OF NOTICE OF APPEAL IS A "TRIVIAL" ERROR: HIGH COURT DECISION CONSIDERED
In Harrogate Borough Council -v- Secretary of State for Communities & Local Government & Zammitt [2014] EWHC 1506 (Admin) the appellant was two days late in serving a notice of appeal. His Honour Judge Behrens (sitting as a judge of the…
COSTS DRAFTSMAN SIGNING COSTS BUDGET DOES NOT RENDER IT A NULLITY: HIGH COURT DECISION TODAY CONSIDERED
There may be no end to the Mitchell points being taken. In a case earlier today, Americhem Europe Ltd -v- Rakem Ltd [2014] EWHC 1881 (TCC) e Mr Justice Stuart-Smith considered an argument that the costs budget signed by a…
DON’T BANK ON BEING ABLE TO ADDUCE EXPERT EVIDENCE THREE WEEKS BEFORE TRIAL
The case of Warners Retail Ltd -v- National Westminster Bank (Rose J 09/06/2014) is briefly reported on Lawtel this morning. It concerns the applicability of the Mitchell principles and the overriding objective to a very late application to adduce expert…
YET MORE ON SETTING ASIDE DEFAULT JUDGMENT, DELAY & PROMPTNESS
The case of Page -v- Champion Financial Ltd [2014] EWHC 1778 (QB) was discussed in an earlier post in relation to delays in applying to set judgment aside. The case of Dalton -v- Cooper [2014] EWHC 1556 (QB) was decided earlier, by…
EXPERT EVIDENCE: THE EXPERT’S ROLE: SEEING THE WOOD FOR THE TREES
A recent post dealt with the cross-examination of expert witnesses. It is interesting, in some cases, to look at how judged view expert evidence in practice. A good example arises in the judgment of Mr Justice Coulson in Stagecoach Great…
PROVISIONAL ASSESSMENT OF COSTS: LINKS TO HELPFUL GUIDANCE
The post on summary assessment yesterday led me to many links in relation to help with provisional assessment. Given that the post on Guidance on Precedent H is one of the most popular posts on the blog I thought it…
SETTING JUDGMENT ASIDE: DELAY & PROMPTNESS
When setting aside a default judgment the court has to consider whether the application was made “promptly”. The relevance and importance of a “prompt” application has been considered several times on this blog. The issue was considered again in Page…
MITCHELL CASE IN THE COURTS AGAIN (2): NON PARTY DISCLOSURE ISSUES
The substantive action in Mitchell goes on. A post on this blog in March considered the application for disclosure made against the police. This issue was considered again by Tugendhat J again yesterday when the judge made orders for…
THE SUMMARY ASSESSMENT OF COSTS: USEFUL LINKS
The previous post reported on how summary assessment was conducted in a High Court case. This led me to look at the guidance that is available in relation to preparing a bill for summary assessment and also for hearing of…
SUMMARY ASSESSMENT: HOW IT WORKS IN PRACTICE: LOVELL -v- MERTON PRIORY HOMES
There is nothing remarkable about the decision of Mr Justice Edwards-Stuart in Lovell Partnerships Ltd-v- Merton Prior Homes [2014] EWHC 1800 (TCC) where he assessed costs after a trial. However it provides an example of the robust manner in which…
FAILURE TO SERVE FORM N251: ADDITIONAL LIABILITIES & PREMIUM DISALLOWED; RELIEF FROM SANCTIONS REFUSED
We are seeing reports come through of cases that were decided some time ago. However they provide illustrations of the problems that can arise and the court’s likely approach. Ibbertson -v- Black Horse Ltd [Maidstone County Court] is available on…
PAY COURT FEES ON TIME AND DON'T RELY ON COURT STAFF FOR LEGAL ADVICE: ANOTHER REPORTED CASE WHERE RELIEF FROM SANCTIONS REFUSED:
The case of Decadent Vapours Ltd -v- Bevan et al (Judge Jarman Q.C. Cardiff District Registry, 18th February 2014) was reported on Lawtel this morning. It provides another warning of the dangers involved in not complying with court orders on…
CROSS-EXAMINING EXPERT WITNESSES: HINTS, TIPS AND LINKS
The impartiality, or otherwise, of expert witness witnesses is in the news today. This would seem an appropriate time to look at the cross-examination of expert witnesses, particularly in the context of civil litigation. THE ROLE OF THE EXPERT IN…
AVOIDING UNDER SETTLEMENT 1: CLAIMS FOR LOSS OF EARNINGS (1)
The curious thing about writing about avoiding under settlement is that there is very little material on the subject, particularly in the U.K. There are now plenty of websites which offer to sue your previous lawyer if you are not…
WHO IS WATCHING YOUR BACK? A CHECKLIST ON "DEFENSIVE LITIGATION"
The previous post looked at the “fish file” checklist prepared by groups in a recent session I conducted in at one of Kerry Underwood’s courses. A second checklist was also prepared by the groups and this related to “defensive litigation”….
OTHER ESSENTIAL CHECKLISTS: DEALING WITH THOSE "FISH FILES"
Earlier posts looked at the essential checklists prepared by delegates at the “how to get sued” conference. Missing from those checklists was any discussion of one real problem for practitioners that can often lead to problems – the “fish file”….
WHEN CAN YOU SERVE WITNESS SUMMARIES? A HIGH COURT CASE ON THE QUESTION OF WHETHER A PARTY IS "UNABLE" TO OBTAIN A WITNESS STATEMENT
The case of Scarlett -v- Grace (4/6/2014) QBD Phillips J was reported briefly on Lawtel yesterday. It provides an example of the difficulties when a party proposes to serve witness summaries rather than witness statements. THE RULES: CPR 32.9 CPR…
PROVING SOMETHING HAS BEEN POSTED: SWEAR IT TO BE TRUE
I initially read the Court of Appeal decision of Price -v- Price [2014[ EWCA] Civ with interest because it showed that the old CPR 3.9 still applied in family proceedings. However Jon Williams pointed out that the case has an…
73rd AMENDMENT TO THE CIVIL PROCEDURE RULES COMES INTO FORCE TODAY: FINAL TRIO OF LINKS
Monmouthshire Law Society’s twitter account announced Happy 73rd update to CPR day this morning. Here are three crucial links so you can join in the celebrations. CELEBRATORY LINKS A general summary and the rules themselves are here Guidance as to…
YOU CAN AGREE TO EXTEND TIME NOW: BUT SHOULD YOU AGREE TO EXTENSIONS?
Parties can agree to extend time from the 5th June. I have already written on the dangers of the system. However, if the dangers can be sidestepped, should a litigator agree to extend time. THE HEATED DEBATE: SHOULD PARTIES AGREE EXTENSIONS? This…
REMINDER: NEW RULES COME INTO FORCE TOMORROW (5th JUNE 2014): USEFUL LINKS
A timely (I hope) reminder that the new rules come into force tomorrow that allow parties to agree extensions of time. USEFUL LINKS The rules themselves A brief summary on this blog The five danger areas in agreeing extensions of…
GREAT EDSTONE FESTIVAL: RAISING MONEY FOR MS SOCIETY
Zenith Personal Injury group is sponsoring Great Edstone Festival. A family music festival in North Yorkshire which raises money for the MS Society. THE FESTIVAL The festival is on the 5th July 2014 at Great Edstone in North Yorkshire. It…
"ESSENTIAL CHECKLISTS": THE COMPLETE LIST
The “Essential Checklist” series developed out of a workshop series in a course I gave last month. Six groups produced six checklists. Here is a link to them all. SERVICE OF PROCEEDINGS: (“SERVICE WITH A SMILE”) Essential points before the…
AVOIDING UNDERSETTLEMENT: THE FINAL "ESSENTIAL CHECKLIST" & A USEFUL LINK
The final list in the “essential checklist” series is on “avoiding undersettlement”. The day the course was held the Law Society Gazette had published Rachel Rothwell’s piece on Why Cannibalism is coming to PI. One delegate noted that he had…
PRE-ACTION CONDUCT: ESSENTIAL CHECKLISTS AND USEFUL LINKS
This is the 5th in the series of “Essential Checklists”. The group “Prequel” (the clue is in the name I guess) set out what they thought were essential elements in Pre-action procedure. PREQUEL’S CHECKLIST PRE-ACTION STEPS, PROTOCOL AND LETTERS BEFORE…
COURT OF APPEAL TO HEAR THREE MORE CASES ON RELIEF FROM SANCTIONS
The Court of Appeal is to hear three cases on sanctions on the 16th & 17th June. One of the cases being considered is Utilise -v- Davies [2014] EWHC 834 (Ch) which was considered in an earlier post on this blog. The…
COSTS AND COSTS BUDGETING SOME ESSENTIAL CHECKLISTS: GROUP H AT WORK
This is the checklist produced by Group H. You can see the cost lawyer’s concerns at work in relation to the proper allocation of the case and the need to keep an ongoing record. Of particular interest is the…
COSTS, COSTS BUDGETING AND MAKING A LIVING: THE PREQUEL TO THE ESSENTIAL CHECKLIST
The fourth in our “essential checklist” series was prepared by a group that called itself “Group H”. The checklist addresses issues relating to recording and recovering costs. GROUP H This was the only group where I was involved in some…
LATE SERVICE OF THE CLAIM FORM, RETROSPECTIVE EXTENSIONS AND OTHER CAUSES OF SLEEPLESS NIGHTS: A CASE TO POINT.
The recent case of Kaki –v- National Private Air Transport & National Air Service Ltd (QBD (Comm) 23/5/2014 raises some interesting issues in relation to the retrospective validation of service of a claim form when that claim form was served…
SURVIVING MITCHELL 20: THE GREAT BIG OVERALL CHECKLIST
I suspect that this series could go on indefinitely. It is drawn to a close with a round up of the key points. KEY POINTS 1. Know what happened in Mitchell and how it could have been avoided. 2. Assume…
SURVIVING MITCHELL 19: PRACTICE "DEFENSIVE LITIGATION" OR DON'T PRACTICE AT ALL
This is the 19th (and penultimate) in this series on “surviving Mitchell”. What the Mitchell case makes clear is that there is now precious little room for error in civil procedure. We have to develop systems of “defensive litigation”. That…
“MITCHELL BITES TO PENALISE LITIGANTS WHO FAIL TO COMPLY”: EXTENSIONS OF TIME, APPEALS AND BAHO.
The case of Baho & Ors –v- Meerza [2014] EWCA Civ 669 is a further example of a litigant coming to grief because they failed to file an application in time and make the application for an extension of time…
PROMPTNESS AND APPLICATIONS TO SET ASIDE JUDGMENT : THE BIG YELLOW VAN –V- RAYNER 27/05/2014 CONSIDERED
PROMPTNESS AND APPLICATIONS TO SET ASIDE JUDGMENT : THE BIG YELLOW VAN –V- RAYNER (2014) IPEC (Judge Hacon) 27/05/2014 CONSIDERED The importance of a prompt response to procedural issues and setting aside default judgment has been explored previously on this…
WITNESS STATEMENTS: NOT ONE BUT TWO "ESSENTIAL CHECKLISTS"
Earlier posts have documented how these checklists were made. The prequel to the essential checklist sets out matters that practitioners have to watch. Here I set out the checklist prepared by the group “Stating the Obvious”. It is no…
SECTION 33 AND “LONG TAIL CLAIMS”: CONSTRUCTIVE KNOWLEDGE AND RELEVANCE OF DELAY BETWEEN THE BREACH AND THE DATE OF KNOWLEDGE
In Collins -v- Secretary of State for Business Innovation and Skills & Ors [2014] EWCA Civ 717 the Court of Appeal considered the appropriate legal test for the date of knowledge and exercise of the section 33 discretion when an…
WITNESS STATEMENTS: THE PREQUEL TO THE "ESSENTIAL CHECKLIST"
As part of the “Essential Checklist” series a group considered the issues relating to witness statements. Prior to the checklist it is worth reviewing some of the essential issues relating to the service and preparation of witness statements. THE ISSUES…
MEETING UP WITH KERRY UNDERWOOD IN THE CITY OF STEEL: 6th JUNE 2014
I am giving a talk as part of Kerry Underwood’s “Underwood on Jackson on Tour” in Sheffield on the 6th June 2014. The booking details are available from Underwood’s website. Kerry and I agree on a lot of things, but…
LIMITATION: THE ESSENTIAL CHECKLIST: BACK TO THE FUTURE AT WORK
This is the second “essential checklist” compiled at a recent course held by Zenith Chambers. In this workshop practitioners (primarily solicitors), of all levels and type of experience, were asked to produce checklists for the “danger” areas of practice….
COSTS, CONDUCT, PART 36 AND THE "WINNING PARTY": AVB -V TDD CONSIDERED
The case of AVB -v- TDD [2014] EWHC 1442 has received a lot of publicity in the legal press and beyond, involving a relationship between a solicitor and a law student. However the surprising aspect of the reporting is that…
WITNESS STATEMENTS AND WITNESS EVIDENCE: MORE ABOUT CREDIBILITY
A recent post dealt with issues relating to credibility in witness statements. Continuing with that theme it helps to look at the discussion of how witness recollection should be treated in Gestmin -v- Credit Suisse [2013] EWHC 3560 (Comm) and…
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