CASE STRUCK OUT BECAUSE OF FAILURE TO SERVE PARTICULARS OF CLAIM IN TIME: SECOND REMINDER TODAY THAT LITIGATION CAN SOMETIMES BE HARSH AND BRUTAL
In M/S Unique Part Trading LLC & Anor v Regal Lodge Road Ltd [2020] EWHC 3871 (Ch) Mr Justice Miles upheld an order striking out an action because the Particulars of Claim were served late. It is a reminder of…
“THERE COMES A POINT WHEN APOLOGIES ARE NOT ENOUGH”: LATE APPLICATIONS IN THE COURT OF PROTECTION
In University Hospitals Dorset NHS Foundation Trust & Anor v Miss K [2021] EWCOP 40 Mrs Justice Lieven observed that applications, made very late in the day, by hospital trusts, cause considerable disruption. (The blunt reality here, however, is that…
“THE PROVISION OF THE CPR FOR SERVICE… SHOULD BE FAMILIAR TO EVERY SOLICITOR WHO CONDUCTS LITIGATION… THE MULTIPLE ERRORS MADE IN PURPORTING TO SERVE THE DEFENDANT COULD HAVE BEEN AVOIDED WITH A LITTLE DILIGENCE”
Although issues of service are a regular feature on this blog I cannot recall many cases about mis-service of Notice of Commencement of a Bill of Costs. There have been several recently. The claimant failed to serve properly in Gregor…
NO NEED TO CALL CLAIMANT’S MEDICAL EXPERT IN A FAST TRACK TRIAL: MUST BE A GOOD REASON TO DEPART FROM THE NORMAL PROCEDURE
I am grateful to Claire Haley from Aegis Legal for sending me a copy of the judgement of HHJ Freedman in Taylor -v- TUI UK Limited (County Court at Newcastle 22nd January 2021). The judge overturned a decision that the…
APPLICATIONS BY EMAIL: JUDGES SHOULD BE ALERT AND THE PROCESS PROCEDURALLY FAIR: COURT OF APPEAL DECISION
There are some case where the parties attempt to litigate by correspondence, particularly correspondence with the court. Letters and emails proliferate, with no real structure. The rules of evidence, and the difference between “facts”, “arguments” and “submissions” are usually entirely…
LAWYERS FAILURE TO PROVIDE OVERSIGHT OF EXPERTS LEADS TO EXCLUSION OF THEIR EVIDENCE: EXPERT EVIDENCE IS “NOT A MATTER OF RIGHT”
Over the years we have seen some biting judgments about the conduct of experts in civil litigation. I struggle to recall one as extraordinary as the judgment of Mrs Justice Joanna Smith in Dana UK AXLE Ltd v Freudenberg FST…
DIRECT AND VICARIOUS LIABILITY FOR SELF-EMPLOYED MEDICAL PRACTITIONERS WORKING WITHIN A PRACTICE: CLAIMANT SUCCESSFUL IN HER ARGUMENTS
I am grateful to Heather Owen from the Dental Law Partnership for sending me a copy of the decision of HHJ Harrison in Breakingbury -v- Croad (Cardiff County Court 19th April 2021), a copy of which is available here …
STATEMENT ON THE ADMINISTRATION OF JUSTICE POST-PANDEMIC: FOUR BARS ISSUE A WARNING
In a document issued on the 5th May the Bar Council of England and Wales, the Bar of Ireland, the Bar Council of Northern Ireland and the Faculty of Advocates of Scotland sent out an important message about post-pandemic hearings. …
SIGNIFICANT DEVELOPMENTS IMMEDIATELY BEFORE THE CASE IS COSTS BUDGETED? WHEN IS THE SOLICITOR EXPECTED TO JUMP?
In Thompson -v- NSL Limited [2021] EWHC 679 (QB) Master McCloud considered the issue of whether there had been significant developments sufficient to allow a revision of the costs budget when it was known at the time the budget was…
A PART 36 OFFER MADE LESS THAN 21 DAYS BEFORE TRIAL: WHAT HAPPENS IF THE TRIAL IS ADJOURNED
In Reader v SPIE Ltd & Anor [2021] EWHC 1221 (QB) Mr Justice Andrew Baker considered an issue in relation to the construction of CPR 36. A party made an offer less than 21 days before the date set for…
FAILURE TO COMPLY WITH DIRECTIONS IN THE FAMILY COURT: “THEY ARE NOT PREFERENCES, REQUESTS OR MERE INDICATIONS; THEY ARE ORDERS”
I am always wary of venturing into an area occupied by many exceptional family bloggers. However court order, and in particular compliance with court orders, is part of the regular diet of this blog. That is why a case with…
JOURNALIST ALLOWED TO VIEW DOCUMENTS REFERRED TO IN COURT JUDGMENT SIX YEARS AGO: CPR 5.4C CONSIDERED
In Goodley v The Hut Group Ltd [2021] EWHC 1193 (Comm) Mr Justice Calver allowed a journalist’s application for sight of documents referred to in open court. The judgment contains some important observations in relation to CPR 5.4C. THE…
THE DISCLOSURE PILOT SCHEME AND COSTS BUDGETING: YOU CAN AGREE TO DEFER BUDGETING OF THE DISCLOSURE PHASE
In Persimmon Homes Ltd & Anor v Osborne Clark LLP & Anor [2021] EWHC 831 (Ch) Master Kaye pointed out that the Disclosure Pilot for the Business and Property Courts allows the parties to agreed to defer budgeting of the…
OBJECTING TO EVIDENCE BEING ADMITTED CAUSES PROBLEMS ON APPEAL : CLAIMANT GETS BITTEN BY ITS OWN HORSE
In Lifestyle Equities C.V. & Anor v Ahmed & Anor [2021] EWCA Civ 675 the Court of Appeal allowed, in part, an assessment against the assessment of damages. What is interesting here is the point that the claimants objection to…
WHEN YOU HAVE TWO IDENTICAL ACTIONS ON THE GO AT ONCE: COURT CONSIDERS THIS AN ABUSE OF PROCESS
In Dixon v Santander Asset Finance Plc & Anor [2021] EWHC 1044 (Ch) HHJ Saffman (sitting as a High Court Judge) granted the defendant summary judgment on the basis that the claim against it was clearly statute barred. The judge…
WHEN YOUR SOCIAL MEDIA POSTS UNDERMINE YOUR OWN CASE (AND IT HAPPENED TO SOLICITORS…)
Legal Futures yesterday carried a report of the case of Scott -v- Fisher Jones Greenwood LLP. A case in which the respondent failed to file a response in time and an application for an extension of time was refused. Here…
SERVICE OF THE CLAIM FORM: SCOTTISH LAW: LIMITATION AND EXTENSIONS OF TIME: A LESSON HERE FOR US ALL
In Johnson v Berentzen & Anor [2021] EWHC 1042 (QB) Mrs Justice Stacey considered a case where a claimant inadvertently fell foul of Scottish limitation law. In Scottish cases proceedings need to be served within the three year period, it…
PEOPLE, INCLUDING JUDGES, ARE READING WHAT YOU SAY ONLINE: IT IS NOT JUST CLIENTS
Several people have already remarked that the judge in Ahmed & Anor v Ahmed [2021] EWHC 1021 (Ch) made it quite clear that he had looked up details of one of the advocates online, and these details were mentioned in the…
PART 36: ACCEPTANCE, WITHDRAWAL AND PROTECTED PARTIES: HIGH COURT DECISION
In Wormald v Ahmed [2021] EWHC 973 (QB) Ms Clare Ambrose (sitting as a Deputy High Court Judge) considered the difficult issue of whether a protected party can accept a Part 36 offer and its interaction with the need for…
ANOTHER ACTIONS FAILS BECAUSE OF LATE SERVICE OF THE CLAIM FORM: NEITHER CPR 3.9 OR 3.10 CAN DIG THE CLAIMANT OUT OF THIS HOLE
Small fortunes could be made by betting that there will be a regular supply of cases on late service of the claim form on this blog (although you would get poor odds). “Dicing with procedural death” appears to be regular…