NEWTON’S LAW AND COMMUNICATING WITH THE COURT: THE NEED FOR PARTIES TO GO THROUGH THE APPROPRIATE PROCEDURE
There are is brief passage in the judgment of Mr Recorder Allen QC in G v C [2020] EWFC B35 (OJ) (16 July 2020) that is of general application. “The communication has served to demonstrate Newton’s third law of…
SIMILAR FACT EVIDENCE: AN OVERVIEW AND THE CASES: THE RELEVANT GUIDANCE CONSIDERED
The previous post about the Court of Appeal decision today in relation to similar fact evidence provides an opportunity to recap on some basic principles. OVERVIEW OF THE RELEVANT PRINCIPLES A detailed review of the cases appears below. By…
WHEN EXPERT EVIDENCE BECOMES REDUNDANT: “WE DO NOT HAVE TRIAL BY EXPERT IN THIS COUNTRY: WE HAVE TRIAL BY JUDGE”
There is an interesting judgment on expert evidence at Domeney v Rees & Ors [2020] EWHC 2115 (QB), where Master Davis considered whether accident reconstruction evidence was necessary in relation to a trial. “We do not have trial by…
PLEADING (STATEMENTS OF CASE) FOR PERSONAL INJURY LAWYERS (LIVE WEBINAR) 3rd SEPTEMBER 2020
The discussion of statements of case yesterday in the case of Tejani v Fitzroy Place Residential Ltd & Anor [2020] EWHC 1856 (TCC) has led, almost directly, to a webinar on statements of case. I am giving a webinar on the…
WHEN SHOULD A SOLICITOR MAKE A WITNESS STATEMENT ON BEHALF OF THEIR CLIENTS? A REVIEW OF THE CASES
Last week I gave an in-house talk to a London firm of solicitors.* One of the matters we discussed was when (if ever) it was appropriate for a solicitor to make a witness statement in support of an interlocutory application. …
CLAIM STRUCK OUT, RELIEF FROM SANCTIONS REFUSED, COUNTERCLAIM CONTINUES: CLAIMANT HITS A BRICK WALL
In Edmunds v Newell & Anor [2020] EW Misc 7 (CC) HHJ Jarman QC refused a claimant’s application for relief from sanctions. The claim was struck out but the counterclaim continued. THE CASE The claimant claimed £110,599.99 plus interest…
Civil Procedure (Coronavirus): BLOG AND ARTICLES ROUNDUP – JUNE 2020
This round up looks at the impact that COVID-19 is having on the law, and procedure in particular. The key cases in relation to the impact of coronavirus were considered in the post on the Kings Chambers’ blog Coronavirus: How…
FAILURE TO FILE A CERTIFICATE FOR THE LITIGATION FRIEND UPON ISSUE: CAN THE COURT REMEDY THE SITUATION: CONSIDERING THE IMPARTIALITY OF THE LITIGATION FRIEND
It is rare for there to be a lengthy judgment in relation to procedural issues about the appointment and the role of the litigation Friend. In Hinduja v Hinduja & Ors [2020] EWHC 1533 (Ch) Mr Justice Falk considered whether…
THE SEVEN YEAR ITCH: CIVIL LITIGATION BRIEFS’ 7th (OR 29th?) BIRTHDAY: FACTS, FIGURES AND HOW IT ALL BEGAN
This week sees the seventh anniversary of Civil Litigation Brief as a blog. That, it appears, is relatively young as a blog, the housing law blog Nearly Legal recently celebrated its 14th anniversary and is well into its truculent teenage…
WHEN THE SKY FALLS IN: WHAT TO DO WHEN THINGS GO WRONG IN LITIGATION: WEBINAR 6th AUGUST 2020
I have been writing on this blog for some time now that lawyers should be taught that mistakes happen. We should aim to avoid them but if errors are made they are often rectifiable if dealt with correctly and quickly. …
WEBINARS ON LAW, PROCEDURE AND DAMAGES: READ ALL ABOUT THEM…
Since lockdown has made giving live presentations impossible I have been involved in presenting a number of webinars. This would seem a good time to set them out. Those that have been given earlier this year are still available on…
WHEN REMOTE HEARINGS GO WRONG: AND STRUGGLING THROUGH TO PUT THEM RIGHT – AT WHOSE COSTS?
I often listen to, and read, official statements about remote hearings with a degree of scepticism. The impression is given that things are going smoothly. The reality is that things are often going awry and it is taking a great…
COVID REPEATS 45: WE DON’T CARE WHAT THE JUDGE ORDERED WE ARE GOING TO PUT WHAT WE WANT INTO THIS ORDER
There are many strange examples of conduct reported on this blog. One example is in Webb Resolutions Ltd v JV Ltd (t/a Shepherd Chartered Surveyors) [2013] EWHC 509 (TCC). Put simply a judge made an order at a hearing, one…
CIVIL PROCEDURE: BLOG AND ARTICLES ROUND UP – MAY 2020
As we adjust to the problems of the pandemic some of the more conventional issues of litigation have been dealt with extensively this month. Costs ACL Trio of High Court judges issue costs penalties to defendants that refused ADR ACL Claimant not…
LATE WITNESS STATEMENT: RELIEF FROM SANCTIONS NOT GRANTED: A WARNING AGAINST COMPLACENCY
Anyone who has had the pleasure of hearing Professor Dominic Regan lecture will know that he gives a constant warning that the Denton principles have not gone away. In relation to the late service of budgets in particular, but in…
GENERAL GUIDANCE ON PDF BUNDLES FOR HEARINGS IN COURTS: GUIDANCE ISSUED TODAY
Mr Justice Mann has issued the following guidance on PDF bundles today. It provides practical guidance as to the matters that should be included in bundles, including the need for optical recognition, the need for the documents to be in…
THOSE WHO DRAFTED THE WITNESS STATEMENTS HAVE “FORGOTTEN WHAT THE ROLE OF THE WITNESS STATEMENT IS”: BACK TO BASICS FROM MR JUSTICE WAKSMAN
I am returning to more traditional territory in looking at the judgment of Mr Justice Waksman in PCP Capital Partners LLP & Anor v Barclays Bank Plc [2020] EWHC 646 (Comm). Witness evidence and witness statements have been a regular…
REMOTE HEARINGS: CHILDREN CASES: GUIDANCE FROM THE COURT OF APPEAL
Civil litigators may well be able to gain some assistance from the guidance being given in children cases. The Court of Appeal gave judgment today in Re A (Children) (Remote Hearing: Care and Placement Orders). a-children-judgment-300420 [2020] EWCA Civ 583…
THE (NOT SO) LONELY LITIGATOR’S CLUB 12: ANONYMOUS DISTRICT JUDGE (1)
I haven’t quite worked out the logistics of our club having anonymous members (I will have to check the constitution carefully). However there are advantages to anonymity, a District Judge (in fact more than one) have agreed to join and…
IS PD 51Z VALID? COURT OF APPEAL WILL HEAR CASE ON POSSESSION PROCEEDINGS ON THE 30th APRIL
The Nearly Legal Housing Law blog reports that the Court of Appeal will hear an appeal on the 30th April as to whether PD 51Z is valid. THE CASE The appeal is a leapfrogged appeal from a decision of…
QUEEN’S BENCH GUIDANCE BULLETINS: SUMMARIES AND LINKS
Inevitably guidance from the QBD on the impact of coronavirus has come in stages. The six Bulletins are summarised below, together with links to the each guidance. Queen’s Bench guidance: This update explains the steps that are being taken in order…
EXTENSION OF TIME GRANTED AND HEARING PUT BACK BECAUSE OF COVID-19 PROBLEMS: THE RELEVANT PRINCIPLES CONSIDERED
In Muncipio De Mariana & Ors v BHP Group Plc [2020] EWHC 928 (TCC) HHJ Eyre QC allowed the defendants extra time to serve evidence because of the coronavirus crisis and a hearing date was put back. There is an…
119th Practice Direction Update to the Civil Procedure Rules – Online Civil Money Claims in support of the Covid-19 effort
The 119th update to the Practice Direction Amendments can be found here. The amendments relate to the the Online Civil Claims (OCMC) pilot scheme. THE CHANGES The changes are best summarised in the Courts and Tribunals Announcements page, available here. …
THE INNS OF COURT COLLEGE OF ADVOCACY: PRINCIPLES FOR REMOTE ADVOCACY
In an extremely short amount of time the Inns of Court College of Advocacy has produced a remarkable guide “Principles for Remote Advocacy”. The document has entered the public domain today, with no restrictions on its use, it is available…
HMCTS: UPDATED GUIDANCE ON TELEPHONE AND VIDEO HEARINGS DURING THE CORONAVIRUS OUTBREAK
HMCTS has updated its guidance on telephone and video hearings during the coronavirus outbreak. The guidance is available here. THE CONTENTS The decision to use telephone and video hearings Using existing technology and making new technology available The rules on…
Covid-19 Nottinghamshire, Derbyshire & Lincolnshire Protocol HHJ Godsmark QC – Designated Civil Judge
HHJ Godsmark QC has issued the listing and hearing protocol set out below for all Civil courts in Nottinghamshire, Derbyshire and Lincolnshire. It is worthwhile having a close look at the annexes in relation to listing priorities and the provision…
CORONAVIRUS, EXTENSIONS OF TIME AND TRIAL WINDOWS: THE WHEELS OF JUSTICE MUST BE KEPT TURNING…
In Heineken Supply Chain BV v Anheuser-Busch Inbev SA [2020] EWHC 892 (Pat) Damiel Alexander QC (sitting as a High Court judge) considered issues relating to timetabling and the problems caused by coronavirus. The problems caused to a party by…
CASES PROCEEDING IN BIRMINGHAM HIGH COURT (QBD) AND COUNTY COURT: GUIDANCE FROM THE DCJ
HHJ Worster: the Acting Designated Civil Judge for Birmingham has issued the following guidance in relation to cases proceeding in the QBD at Birmingham High Court and Birmingham County Court. “This local guidance provides some general information about…
SOUTH YORKSHIRE CIVIL: COVID LISTING AND HEARING PROTOCOL
HHJ Robinson, the DCJ for South Yorkshire, has published a listing and hearing protocol for all court users. This is reproduced in full below. “South Yorkshire Civil Covid-19 Protocol 1 His Honour Judge Graham Robinson, Designated Civil Judge (DCJ)…
GUIDANCE IN CIVIL CASES FROM THE DCJ FOR NORTHUMBRIA AND DURHAM
HHJ Jeremy Freedman, DCJ for Northumbria and Durham, has given the following guidance for courts within that area. Note: (1) The extension of time for the parties to agree variation of the timetable to 90 days; (2) Electronic signatures will…
SPECIFIC GUIDANCE FOR FAMILY COURTS IN DORSET
HHJ Dancey, the Designated Family Judge for Dorset, has sent out a Local Practice Guidance on COVID-19. I am grateful to barrister Amanda Bancroft for sending it to me. It provides a template for working and supplements the President’s national…
CIVIL COURT USERS IN MANCHESTER: GUIDANCE FROM THE DESIGNATED CIVIL JUDGE
HHJ Bird has issued specific guidance for civil court users in Manchester. “Dear Court User, I am writing to let you know what steps we are taking to keep the civil courts running in these difficult times. Specific arrangements apply…
WORKING REMOTELY: USEFUL GUIDANCE
I have, ironically, been planning to write on remote working for some time. The post was going to be in the “well being” series and, among other things, deal with issues like social isolation when working from home. Now, of…
RECOGNISING THAT 99.8% OF LITIGATORS ARE STARK RAVING BONKERS: (A REPOST)
This is post that was originally written in May 2014. It followeda talk I gave in Leeds “How to get sued, Make a Loss and be Miserable”. It led to the sharing of ideas between the 40 litigators who attended. …
CHALLENGING COST BUDGET PHASES ON ASSESSMENT: DECISION TODAY: PARTY CHALLENGING BUDGETED PHASE HAS AN UPHILL TASK
My colleague Paul Hughes has provided a link to a judgment today of District Judge Lumb in the case of Chapman -v- Norfolk & Norwich University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, available here. The judgment considers the issue of when a…
E BUNDLES: GUIDANCE FROM THE FINANCIAL REMEDIES COURT
The Courts and Tribunals Judiciary site has an “e-bundles protocol”. Since this is a sign of things to come it would benefit all practitioners to read it. THE GUIDANCE 4. Where an e-bundle is to be used the following technical…
EXPERT’S CONDUCT DID NOT LEAD TO EVIDENCE BEING DISALLOWED: CLAIMANT’S CASE REMAINS ON TRACK
In Blackpool Borough Council v Volkerfitzpatrick Ltd and Range Roofing and Cladding Ltd & Ors [2020] EWHC 387 (TCC) HHJ Davies (sitting as a High Court judge) carried out a detailed consideration of the conduct of an expert when considering,…
EARLY NEUTRAL EVALUATION BY THE COURTS: PRACTICAL GUIDANCE AS TO PROCEDURE AND IMPLEMENTATION
There is a short judgment of Master McCloud today in Telecom Centre (UK) Ltd v Thomas Sanderson Ltd (Early Neutral Evaluation) [2020] EWHC 368 (QB) which contains some important observations on the practical implementation of Early Neutral Evaluation by the…
STRIKING OUT POINTS OF DISPUTE BECAUSE OF LACK OF PARTICULARISATION: PARTIES HAVE TO KNOW WHAT IS IN DISPUTE AND WHY
In Ainsworth v Stewarts Law LLP [2020] EWCA Civ 178 the Court of Appeal upheld a decision striking out part of points of dispute. “Common sense dictates that the points of dispute must be drafted in a way which enables…
ACCURATE TIME ESTIMATES: A ROUND UP OF THE CASES AND SOME GUIDANCE (IF YOU HAVE THE TIME TO READ IT…)
In Kazakhstan Kagazy Plc & Ors v Zhunus & Ors [2020] EWHC 128 (Comm) Mr Justice Andrew Baker made some observations about inadequate time estimates. This criticism was specifically about applications in the Commercial Court. However time estimates are an…
THE DANGERS OF MAKING ORDERS FOR SPLIT TRIALS: DECISION AT TRIAL SET ASIDE DUE TO A SERIOUS PROCEDURAL IRREGULARITY
The judgment of Mr Justice Murray today in Sharn Panesar Ltd v Pistachios In The Park Ltd & Anor [2020] EWHC 194 (QB) illustrates some of the dangers of holding a trial on a preliminary issue. In this case a…
CIVIL PROCEDURE AND COSTS: BLOG AND ARTICLES ROUND UP – JANUARY 2020
Links and articles to blog posts and articles available online in January 2020 Costs Costs Barrister Conditional fee agreements and contentious business agreements Association for Costs Lawyers Oversight regulator praises CLSB’s “considerable progress” Association for Costs Lawyers Offer acceptanc… Enjoying this post? Become…
JOINDER OF NEW PARTIES IN EXISTING PROCEEDINGS 2: THE PRINCIPLES (AND THE COSTS!)
We are looking again at the decision of HHJ Kimbell QC (sitting as a High Court judge) in Molavi v Hibbert & Ors [2020] EWHC, this time relating to the principles to be considered in relation to joinder of additional parties….
JOINDER OF NEW PARTIES INTO EXISTING PROCEEDINGS 1: NOTIFY THE EXISTING PARTIES: THE RULES DON’T SAY SO BUT COMMON SENSE DOES
There are a few interesting procedural matters that flow from the decision of HHJ Kimbell QC (sitting as a High Court judge) in Molavi v Hibbert & Ors [2020] EWHC 121 (Ch). Here we look at the judge’s comments on…
CIVIL PROCEDURE BACK TO BASICS 77: THE COURT MUST KNOW HOW MUCH AN EXPERT WILL COST: CPR 35.4(2)
CPR 35.4(2) is often overlooked. This rule imposes a duty on a party applying for permission to rely on expert evidence to inform the court how much the expert is likely to cost. This is often clear at the costs…
11th HOUR APPLICATION TO INTRODUCE NEW WITNESS EVIDENCE (AND A NEW CASE) REFUSED
In Crumpler & Anor (Liquidators Of Peak Hotels And Resorts Ltd v Candey Limited [2019] EWHC 3558 (Ch) HHJ Davis-White QC (sitting as a High Court judge) refused a party relief from sanctions where witness statements were served late. The…
CIVIL PROCEDURE AND COSTS: BLOG AND ARTICLES ROUND UP – DECEMBER 2019
Links and articles to blog posts and articles available online from December 2019. Costs Costs Barrister Cash flow and catastrophic personal injury litigation Costs Barrister Fixed costs and translation fees Association for Costs Lawyers Court can order costs in foreign…
2019 AND CIVIL PROCEDURE – A ROUND UP OF THE ROUND UPS: WHAT TO FRET ABOUT AND WHAT NOT TO FRET ABOUT…
There have been a series of annual reviews on key topics throughout December. To round off the year it seemed a good idea to provide a reminder of them all and put the links in one place 2019 AND CIVIL…
2019 AND CIVIL PROCEDURE THE YEAR IN REVIEW: FACTS, FIGURES AND SEARCH TERMS: “CAN A DEAD PERSON BE TAKEN TO COURT?”
The statistics at the end of the year are always interesting (to me at least). The search terms that lead to this blog can be quite illuminating (and sometimes quite alarming…). MOST READ POSTS OF 2019 After seven years…
THE COURT WILL NOT READILY IMPLY SANCTIONS INTO ORDERS THAT DO NOT EXPRESSLY CONTAIN SANCTIONS: AN EARLY CHRISTMAS PRESENT FOR LITIGATORS
In Djurberg v London Borough of Richmond & Ors [2019] EWHC 3342 (Ch) Chief Master Marsh held that a party did not require relief from sanctions when it failed to comply with a court order that did not impose a…
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