
REDUCING THE RISKS OF ADVERSE COSTS ORDERS IN CIVIL LITIGATION: WEBINAR 23rd MARCH 2023
With the changes coming into place in relation to QOCS on the 6th April 2023 it is now more important than ever that claimants avoid adverse costs orders. This webinar looks at the best and safest means of litigating to…

ENSURING EVERYTHING GOES RIGHT IN FATAL ACCIDENT CLAIMS: WEBINAR 22nd FEBRUARY 2023
On the 22nd February 2023 I am presenting a webinar on Fatal Accidents “Ensuring Everything Goes Right”. This looks at the problem areas that can arise in fatal claims and how to avoid them. Booking details are available here. THE…

CLAIMANT SOUGHT TO AMEND NAME OF THE DEFENDANT: CLAIM STRUCK OUT: ANOTHER PERIL OF TRAVEL LITIGATION
I am grateful to barrister Katherine Howells for sending me a copy of the decision of Deputy District Judge Causton in Gregory -v- TUI Airways Ltd, a copy of that decision is available here Approved Judgment Gregory v TUI. …

WEBINAR ON CARE, AIDS & APPLIANCES CLAIMS AFTER MUYEPA -v- THE MINISTRY OF DEFENCE: 18th NOVEMBER 2022
I have already written three times about the judgment of Mr Justice Cotter in Muyepa v Ministry of Defence [2022] EWHC 2648 (KB). I have not explored in detail the important observations in that judgment in relation to claiming, and presenting,…

A WEEK IS A LONG TIME IN POLITICS: FOUR WEEKS IS EVEN LONGER IN LAW: CLAIMANT REFUSED INJUNCTION BECAUSE THEY HAD NOT ISSUED PROCEEDINGS
In Hayes v Pack & Ors [2022] EWHC 2508 (KB) Mr Justice Johnson refused to grant an injunction. The unusual nature of the application should not hide the fact that the application was refused because the claimant had failed to…

AVOIDING LIMITATION PROBLEMS IN PERSONAL INJURY: WEBINAR 29th SEPTEMBER 2022
On the 29th September 2022 I am presenting a webinar “Avoiding Limitation Problems”. This deals with the major issues relating to limitation in personal injury actions. Booking details are available here. THE CONTENTS OF THE WEBINAR Basic limitation periods,…

AVOIDING PROCEDURAL PROBLEMS: A PRACTITIONER’S GUIDE: WEBINAR 23rd SEPTEMBER 2022
In case anyone hasn’t noticed a lot of (perhaps the vast majority) of posts on this blog relate to procedural issues and problems that litigators have run into, or taken advantage of. On the 23rd September 2022 I am presenting…

AVOIDING UNDER-SETTLEMENT: A GUIDE FOR PERSONAL INJURY LAWYERS: WEBINAR 20th SEPTEMBER 2022
A webinar on “avoiding undersettlement” for personal injury lawyers is being held on the 20th September 2022. Booking details are available here. “We go back through your claim in fine detail and if we find that your previous solicitor…

CASES ON SERVICE OF THE CLAIM FORM IN 2022: WHAT LITIGATORS CAN, AND MUST LEARN FROM THEM: WEBINAR 14th OCTOBER 2022
2022 has seen some significant decisions in relation to service of the claim form, with many claimants coming to grief due to basic errors made when serving, or attempting to serve. This webinar “One Day Out” but still too late:…

IT IS THE CLAIMANTS’ JOB TO SERVE THE CLAIM FORM ON TIME: HIGH COURT REJECTS ARGUMENT THAT DEFENDANTS WERE ESTOPPED FROM TAKING THE POINT: CLAIMANTS’ OTHER ARGUMENT COME TO GRIEF
We are always seeing new ways in which mistakes are made in relation to service of the claim form. In Lonsdale & Ors v Wedlake Bell Llp & Ors [2022] EWHC 2169 (QB)the claimants agreed an extension of time to…

THE 10 YEAR LONGSTOP PERIOD IN PRODUCT LIABILITY CLAIMS: A POINT TO WATCH
There is one very tricky area of limitation law that I wanted to return to following the judgment in Coote -v- Ullstein [2022] EWHC 606 (QB). The case was looked at in detail here. However I want to concentrate on the…

HOW TO CALCULATE TIME IN THE CIVIL PROCEDURE RULES
Periodically I write reminders of the importance of being able to calculate time periods correctly. Sometime a miscalculation can lead to fundamental problems. AN EXAMPLE OF MISCALCULATION In Evans v Pinsent Masons LLP [2019] EWHC 2150 (QB) Mr Justice Martin Spencer overturned…

WEBINARS ON KEEPING YOUR COOL: UNDERSETTLEMENT, PROCEDURAL PITFALLS AND LIMITATION PROBLEMS: AVOIDING MATTERS HEATING UP WHEN THE HEATWAVE IS OVER
In September I am presenting a number of webinars with the theme of “avoiding problems”. These are avoiding undersettlement: avoiding procedural pitfalls and avoiding problems with limitation. “AVOIDING UNDERSETTLEMENT: A GUIDE FOR PERSONAL INJURY LAWYERS” 19th September 2022 …

NINE YEARS ON IV: 2016: BEING LEGALLY STREETWISE: WHAT THEY DON’T TEACH YOU IN LAW SCHOOL
Continuing with the selection of post from each year of the blog I have reproduced below a post from February 2016. This post was unusual in that I saw a post from a firm of solicitors, Darlingtons, and asked permission…

FATAL ACCIDENTS: AVOIDING THE PITFALLS: WEBINAR 28th JUNE 2022
This webinar is designed to look at those areas of fatal accident litigation where a lawyer can be negligent, or run into significant problems. Booking details are available here. TOPICS TO BE COVERED Important issues prior to death, the…

THINGS TO THINK ABOUT WHEN SIGNING A DOCUMENT ON BEHALF OF A CLIENT: A FEW CASES CONSIDERED
It is also useful to issue periodic reminders of the dangers that are involved when a solicitor signs a document on behalf of their client. Here we look at several cases and the rules themselves. The observations of the…

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…

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. …

SERVING THE CLAIM FORM PROPERLY – THE DIRE PROBLEMS IF YOU DON’T, AND THE LESSONS TO BE LEARNT FROM GOOD LAW: WEBINAR 11th APRIL 2022
The decision of the Court of Appeal today in The Good Law Project, R (On the Application Of) v The Secretary of State for Health And Social Care [2022] EWCA Civ 35 emphasises the need for all litigators to know,…

COURT REFUSES TO MAKE AN ORDER FOR SUBSTITUTED SERVICE ON DEFENDANT’S SOLICITOR: THE DANGERS OF LEAVING SERVICE ISSUES TO THE LAST MINUTE
Another aspect of the judgment of Mr Justice Nicklin in SMO v Tiktok Inc & Ors [2022] EWHC 489 (QB) relates to the claimant’s application to serve the claim form by alternative method. This case illustrates how difficult this order…