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…
DIDN’T FILE A SCHEDULE: COSTS CONFINED TO COUNSEL’S FEES
In Mahandru v Nielson [2021] EWHC 2297 (QB) Mrs Justice Steyn DBE considered what costs should be awarded when a respondent had successfully defended an appeal but not filed a costs schedule. The answer, in that case, was to simply…
WHEN A DEFENDANT DOES NOT TURN UP FOR TRIAL: THE RELEVANT CRITERIA CONSIDERED
In Van Zuylen v Whiston-Dew & Anor [2021] EWHC 2219 (Ch) Mr Nicholas Thompsell, sitting as a High Court Judge, considered the relevant criteria the court applies when a party fails to attend trial. The judgment also considers the relevant…
COSTS OUTSIDE THE COSTS BUDGET WHEN A PARTY IS LIMITED TO COURT FEES: STRIKING OUT, RELIEF FROM SANCTIONS, ADMINSTRATIVE ERRORS BY THE COURT, ABORTIVE COURT HEARINGS: ALL PROCEDURAL LIFE IS HERE…
The decision of Mr Justice Marcus Smith in Pasricha v Pasricha [2021] EWHC 1017 (Ch) contains a consideration of the circumstances in which a court can order costs to be paid to a party when their budget has been limited…
THE PARTIES CANNOT AGREE TO CONTRACT OUT OF COURT ORDERS: A LESSON FROM THE FAMILY COURT
Although the judgment of Mr Justice Mostyn in AS v CS (Private FDR) [2021] EWFC 34 relates to family proceedings the principle set out may well be of more general application. The fact that the parties have agreed to a…
ADJOURNMENT OF TRIAL ON THE GROUNDS OF ILL-HEALTH: COURT OF APPEAL OVERTURNS DECISION THAT HEARING SHOULD GO AHEAD: A TRIAL SHOULD BE “FAIR IN ALL THE CIRCUMSTANCES”
“Applying for an adjournment on the grounds of ill health” is a common (indeed one of the most common) search terms that leads people to this blog. It is unusual to see a Court of Appeal decision on this issue….
ADJOURNMENT OF A TRIAL IS A “LAST RESORT” (AND WILL RARELY OCCUR BECAUSE OF INABILITY OF SPECIFIC COUNSEL TO ATTEND)
The judgment of Mr Justice Fordham in Naylor v University Hospitals of Leicester NHS Trust [2021] EWHC 340 (QB) shows the difficulty of obtaining an adjournment of a trial date. The judge rejected an application on the grounds of…
COVID DOESN’T STOP THE COURTS GOING ON: BUT GREAT CARE IS NEEDED
In Bilta (UK) Ltd & Ors v SVS Securities Plc & Ors [2021] EWHC 36 (Ch) Mr Justice Marcus Smith examined in detail the principles relating to court hearings during COVID. There is an examination of the steps that need…
CORONAVIRUS LAW: DEFENDANT’S APPLICATION TO ADJOURN TRIAL REFUSED: TRIAL CAN GO AHEAD IN PERSON (AND WOULD GO AHEAD EVEN IF HELD REMOTELY)
In the judgment in SC v University Hospital Southampton NHS Foundation Trust (Rev 2) [2020] EWHC 1445 (QB) given yesterday Mr Justice Johnson refused the defendant’s application for an adjournment on the grounds that a trial held remotely would be…
A HEARING THAT “COULD NOT BE CONDUCTED FAIRLY OR PROPERLY” WITHOUT A PHYSICAL PRESENCE IN THE COURTROOM: IDEA OF REMOTE TRIAL REFUSED
The judgment of Sir Andrew McFarlane in P (A Child: Remote Hearing), Re [2020] EWFC 32 shows that remote hearings are not suitable for every case. “It seems to me that to contemplate a remote hearing of issues such as…
THE TRIAL WILL GO ON: JUDGE REJECTS ARGUMENT THAT FIVE WEEK TRIAL HAD TO BE ADJOURNED BECAUSE OF COVID-19
In Blackfriars Ltd, Re [2020] EWHC 845 (Ch) Mr John Kimbell QC (sitting as a Deputy High Court judge) refused an application to adjourn a trial made on the basis of the difficulties caused by coronavirus. The judgment contains a…
GUIDANCE IN DEVON AND CORNWALL: VACATION OF COURT HEARINGS AND RE-LISTING
The President of Plymouth Law Society has sent out the following guidance. COVID-19 – URGENT – CIVIL COURT HEARINGS TO BE VACATED – HHJ GORE QC Dear Member If you are a Civil Court user please read the notice below from…
DISCLOSURE OF SURVEILLANCE EVIDENCE LATE: THE FACT THAT THE GENIE IS OUT OF THE BOTTLE IS NOT ENOUGH: AN INTERESTING HIGH COURT DECISION
Angus Fergusson has kindly sent me a copy of the judgment of Mr Justice Birss in Grant -v- Newport City Council [2018] EWHC 3813, it is an interesting case where the judge, on appeal, upheld a decision to refuse…
APPLYING FOR AN ADJOURNMENT OF A TRIAL ON THE GROUNDS OF ILL HEALTH: A “CUT OUT AND KEEP” GUIDE TO THE AUTHORITIES
It is surprising how often searches that lead to this blog are questions about seeking adjournments on the grounds of ill health. This appears to be common issue. A useful “cut out and keep” summary of the relevant authorities can…
DEFENDANT’S APPLICATION FOR ADJOURNMENT OF TRIAL REFUSED: A PROBLEM OF THEIR OWN MAKING: THE TRIAL WILL GO AHEAD
There is an interesting summary of the decision in Mitchell -v- Precis 545 Ltd (15/11/2019) on Kings Chambers website. A report by my colleague Jeremy Roussak of a case where he represented the claimant and where HHJ Freedman refused a…
TRIAL JUDGE SHOULD HAVE WAITED FOR PARTIES TO ARRIVE AT COURT: APPEAL AGAINST ORDER UNDER CPR 39.3 ALLOWED
In Akita & Anor v Governor and Company of the Bank of Ireland [2019] EWHC 1712 (QB) Mr Justice Martin Spencer held that a trial judge, knowing that parties were on the way to court, should have waited longer before…
CASES TAKEN OUT OF THE LIST AT THE LAST MINUTE BECAUSE OF “LACK OF JUDICIAL TIME”: WHAT ARE THE CAUSES? YOU BE THE JUDGE
Not for the first time I return to the matter of hearings being taken out of the list at the very last moment. This is a longstanding problem that is getting worse. There were reports last week of two sets…
TELEPHONE HEARINGS WHEN COUNSEL WON’T ANSWER THE TELEPHONE: THE UNHAPPY LORD JUSTICE
There is a short judgment recently arrived on BAILLI which fits in well with the earlier post about telephone and electronic hearings. In Nixon & Anor v Secretary of State for the Home Department [2017] EWCA Civ 2694 Lord Justice…
BAD WEATHER MEANT COURT SHOULD HAVE GRANTED AN ADJOURNMENT: THE RELEVANT PRINCIPLES CONSIDERED
In Pari-Jones v CPS [2018] EWHC 3482 (Admin) the Administrative Court allowed an appeal against a decision not to adjourn a trial. The magistrates’ court simply went ahead without referring to any of the relevant legal principles. Although these were criminal…
ADJOURNING A HEARING BECAUSE OF A SICK NOTE: COURT OF APPEAL DECISION: MEDICAL EVIDENCE HAS TO ESTABLISH UNFITNESS TO ATTEND HEARING
There have been a number of cases recently relating to applications of hearings on health grounds, in particular the adequacy of the evidence. The relevant principles were reviewed by the Court of Appeal today in General Medical Council v Hayat [2018]…