
CLAIM FORM SERVED LATE: NO EXTENSION OF TIME GIVEN: PLANNING TO FAIL
In Telford And Wrekin Council v Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities & Anor [2023] EWHC 2439 (Admin) Mr Justice Eyre held that a claim form had been served late. Further the claimant did not come within…

COST BITES 83: DEFENDANT SERVING BUDGET LATE SCRAPES HOME IN A “BORDERLINE” CASE
In K/S Mountain Invest v Ducat Maritime Ltd [2023] EWHC 939 (Comm) HHJ Keyser KC (sitting as a High Court Judge) granted the defendant relief from sanctions following the late filing of its costs budget. The defendant was, perhaps, fortunate….

AGREEING EXTENSIONS OF TIME FOR SERVICE: THE ESSENTIAL POINT THAT THEY MUST BE IN WRITING
An interesting issue about “agreements” is referred to in the judgment of Mr Justice Kerr in Clarion Housing Association Ltd v Crest Nicholson Operations Ltd [2023] EWHC 620 (TCC). I will be looking at the case in more detail later. …

WHY APPLYING FOR AN EXTENSION OF TIME TO SERVE THE CLAIM FORM IS A DANGEROUS BUSINESS: A CASE TODAY AND SOME REMINDERS
The judgment of HHJ Hodge KC in Harrington Scott Ltd v Coupe Bradbury Solicitors Ltd (PROFESSIONAL NEGLIGENCE – Solicitors – Loss of opportunity to pursue claim to trial – Damages – Defendant’s application to strike out and for summary judgment)…

COST BITES 14: TIME FOR PAYMENT OF COURT AWARD THERE SHOULD BE EVIDENCE TO SUPPORT ANY APPLICATION FOR FURTHER TIME
We are returning to the judgment in Vitol SA v Genser Energy Ghana Ltd [2022] EWHC 1955 (Comm) Ms Lesley Anderson QC (sitting as a Deputy High Court Judge). It is quite common for a party ordered to pay costs to…

THE IMPORTANT DIFFERENCE BETWEEN A PROSPECTIVE AND RETROSPECTIVE APPLICATION TO SERVE A CLAIM FORM: “CLEAR WATER” BETWEEN THE TWO TESTS: COURT OF APPEAL OVERTURNS ORDER SETTING ASIDE A PROSPECTIVE APPLICATION FOR SERVICE
In ST v BAI (SA) Trading As Brittany Ferries [2022] EWCA Civ 1037 the Court of Appeal overturned a decision, itself made on appeal, where a prospective application to extend time for service of the claim form was set aside….

PROVING THINGS 234: PROVIDE AN EXPLANATION FOR DELAY BY EVIDENCE – NOT BY SUBMISSIONS
The judgment of Mr Justice Henshaw in Hays & Ors v Bloomfield Investments LLC [2022] EWHC 1648 (Comm) was on a very specific area of procedure. However there is one matter of more general interest. The need to have evidence…

APPLICATION FOR PERMISSION TO APPEAL WAS MADE OUT OF TIME: THE TRIAL JUDGE HAD NO JURISDICTION TO HEAR THE APPLICATION
There is another aspect of the judgment in Omya UK Ltd v Andrews Excavations Ltd & Anor [2022] EWHC 1882 (TCC) that is worth considering. The unsuccessful defendants applied for permission to appeal to the trial judge at the hearing…

CLAIMANT’S APPLICATION FOR AN EXTENSION OF TIME TO SERVE PARTICULAR OF CLAIM REFUSED: A CASE THAT WAS IN THE “LAST CHANCE SALOON” FOR FAR TOO LONG
In CDE v Buckinghamshire County Council [2022] EWHC 738 (QB) Master Thornett rejected a claimant’s application for an extension of time for service of the particulars of claim. The action had a long history with a pattern of delay on…

COURT REFUSES TO EXTEND TIME IN HUMAN RIGHTS ACT CLAIM: THERE IS NO RIGHT TO LITIGATE – THAT IS WHAT LIMITATION IS
In Rafiq v Thurrock Borough Council [2022] EWHC 584 (QB) Mrs Justice Collins Rice refused a claimant’s for an extension of time to a claimant bringing a claim under the Human Rights Act. The judgment is a reminder that there…

COURT OF APPEAL REFUSES RELIEF FROM SANCTIONS: “LIBERTY TO APPLY” DOES NOT GIVE A GENERAL RIGHT OF REVIEW
In Helios Oryx Ltd v Trustco Group Holdings Ltd [2022] EWCA Civ 236 the Court of Appeal dismissed an appellant’s application for relief from sanctions where there had been a failure to comply with a peremptory order given as a…

LATE WITNESS STATEMENTS AND THE ASSESSMENT OF COSTS: COSTS REDUCED EVEN WHEN THEY WERE ON THE INDEMNITY BASIS
There are two distinct issues arising from the judgment of HHJ Pelling QC (sitting as a High Court judge) in Various Airfinance Leasing Companies & Ors v Saudi Arabian Airlines Corporation [2021] EWHC 3509 (Comm). The first relates to the…

RELIEF FROM SANCTIONS: LATE SERVICE OF ACKNOWLEDGMENT OF SERVICE: NOT A “SUBSTANTIAL, SERIOUS OR SIGNIFICANT” FAILURE
In Aelf MSN 242, LLC v De Surinaamse Luchtvaart Maatschappij NV DBA Surinam Airways [2021] EWHC 3482 (Comm) Peter MacDonald Eggers QC (sitting as a Deputy High Court Judge) granted a defendant relief from sanctions in relation to late (and…

COURT REFUSES CLAIMANT’S APPLICATION TO AMEND ITS OWN APPLICATION: THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN A PROSPECTIVE AND RETROSPECTIVE APPLICATION
There are few judgments in relation to the amendment of applications. This issue was considered by Deputy Master Francis in Cavadore Ltd & Anor v Jawa & Anor [2021] EWHC 3382 (Ch). The claimant’s application to amend its application was…

CLAIMANT’S APPLICATION FOR RELIEF FROM SANCTIONS REFUSED: A PARTY MORE INTERESTED IN APPEALING A COURT ORDER THAN COMPLYING WITH ITS TERMS…
In Day v Womble Bond Dickinson (UK) LLP [2021] EWHC 3236 (QB) Deputy Master Toogood refused a claimant’s application for relief from sanctions when there had been a four month delay in applying for permission to amend the Particulars of…

DEFENDANT GRANTED AN EXTENSION OF TIME WHEN IT WAS FIVE YEARS LATE: DENTON PRINCIPLES APPLIED
Until yesterday I do not recall seeing many cases where a defendant required an extension of time in order to make an application under CPR Part 11. However, like London buses, they seem to travel in pairs. In Apollo Ventures…

SERVICE OF THE CLAIM FORM: WHEN THE DEFENDANT NEEDS AN EXTENSION OF TIME TO TAKE POINTS AS TO SERVICE: PROBLEMS BORN IN THE US OF A.
In Joe Macari Servicing Ltd v Chequered Flag International Inc [2021] EWHC 3175 (QB) Master Dagnall considered a case where the defendant required an extension of time in order to take points in relation to service of proceedings. The Master…

APPLICATIONS AND INTERLOCUTORY HEARINGS (PLUS APPLYING FOR EXTENSIONS OF TIME)
On the 2nd December 2021 I am giving a webinar “Applications and Interlocutory Hearings: A Practitioner’s Guide”. Since applications are made, and resisted, on a regular basis it is easy to overlook the underlying rules and case law. This webinar…

RELIEF FROM SANCTIONS GRANTED FOR LATE SERVICE OF ACKNOWLEDGMENT OF SERVICE: A POINT FOR DEFENDANTS TO WATCH
There are two point missed, surprisingly often, by defendants who want to take a point as to service. The first is that an acknowledgment of service must be served timeously, the second is that an application under CPR Part 11…