MITIGATING THE IMPACT OF THE COURT FEE INCREASE 3: ONLY CLAIM WHAT ITS WORTH AND WHAT YOU ARE GOING TO GET
This is the third in the series on mitigating the effect of court fees. The new fees regime makes clear the need for as much accuracy as possible in assessing what the likely award is going to be. An additional…
RELIEF FROM SANCTIONS FOLLOWING LATE SERVICE OF WITNESS STATEMENTS: ANOTHER EXAMPLE
In Sloutsker -v- Romanova [2015] EWHC 545 (QB) Warby J granted the claimant relief from sanctions after it failed to serve witness statements in time. THE CASE The claimants brought an action for libel. The defendant applied for orders setting…
THERE ARE NOW UNEXPLODED GRENADES IN YOUR FILING CABINET: SERVE PROCEEDINGS PROMPTLY AND PROPERLY
One problem with the flurry of issuing proceedings last week is that there will now be numerous actions that have been issued which are not fully ready and where service will be delayed. Remember that un-served proceedings means that there…
IF YOU WANT A STAY PENDING APPEAL MAKE FULL AND TOTAL DISCLOSURE
In Goldsmith -v- O’Brien [2015] EWHC 510 (Ch) Judge Purle QC refused an application for a stay pending appeal. The case is an important reminder of the burden on a party seeking a stay pending appeal. THE CASE The claimant…
THE DEBATE ON COURT FEES IN THE HOUSE OF LORDS: WELL WORTH READING
Every litigator should read the debate on court fees that was held in the House of Lords. There are some trenchant criticisms of the MO(i)J which was responded to by “cant”. I have highlighted passages of interest but this is…
LITIGATION IS "VERY MUCH AN OPTIONAL ACTIVITY": HOW WOULD THE MO(I)J RESPOND TO "NON-OPTIONAL" LITIGANTS?
There is no greater sign of the MO(i)J’s lack of understanding of the reality of litigation than the statement, made in the House of Lords by Lord Faulks, that “litigation is very much an optional activity”. TELL THAT TO BUSINESSES…
WHEN BUNDLES & SANCTIONS COLLIDE: DAVIS -v- RAJA: FAILURE TO FILE APPEAL BUNDLE LEADS TO APPEAL BEING STRUCK OUT
In Davis Solicitors LLP -v- Raja [2015] EWHC 519 (QB) Mr Justice Supperstone refused the claimant relief from sanctions following a failure to comply with directions on appeal in relation to the filing of a bundle. There are important practical…
JUST A BIT MORE ON COURT FEES…
Given the importance of the next few hours I will keep this short. 1. Lexis Nexis Blog have an interview with Keith Etherington on “Beating the fee hike – by 4pm” 2. The Guardian reports Claimants expected to rush to…
TAKING A DIM VIEW OF THE COSTS BUDGET: STRONG WORDS FROM THE TCC: THE PRACTICAL CONSEQUENCES OF OVERBLOWING THE BUDGET
In CIP Properties (AIPT) Limited -v- Galliford Try Infrastructure Ltd [2015] EWHC 481 (TCC) Mr Justice Coulson had strong words to say about the reliability, reasonableness and proportionality of the claimant’s costs budget. The judge was faced with a very…
MITIGATING THE IMPACT OF THE COURT FEE INCREASE 2: FEE REMISSION – EVERY LITIGATOR HAS TO KNOW THIS NOW
This is the second in the series of posts on mitigating the impact of the court fee increase. Not for the first time Kerry Underwood has got to this point already. I am not going to repeat anything Kerry says…
PETITION ABOUT THE INCREASE IN COURT FEES
There is a petition to the Ministry of Justice which can be signed on-line. WHY SIGN THE PETITION? Regular readers of this blog will know the importance. This is summarised in the petition document itself “WHY IS THIS PETITION IMPORTANT?…
FIVE MORE IMPORTANT POINTS FOR THOSE ISSUING IN HASTE
Friday is ( or may be) effectively the last day you can issue under the old fee regime. This is going to be a busy day for many litigators. Here are five points in an attempt to ensure that no…
FOUR IMPORTANT POINTS FOR THOSE HASTILY ISSUING PROCEEDINGS THIS WEEK
Twitter and other sources have been full of stories of solicitors issuing numerous proceedings to avoid the (wholly ridiculous) price hike next week. There are a few things that should be borne in mind by all those who have issued…
MORE ON THE ADVERSE IMPACT OF COURT FEE INCREASE: BLAME THE MO(i)J IF THE ECONOMY COLLAPSES
The impact of the court fee rise has reached the Global Legal Post with the headline that UK litigation specialist fear backlash against London over proposed court fee hike. However it is likely to have a major impact on SMEs…
YET MORE ON COURT FEES: SME'S AND "SECOND WAVE" OF PROPOSED INCREASES
There are more interesting posts on the impact of the new court fees regime. I propose to post on this issue regularly. If anyone has any comments, views or links please let me know. The SI itself (with the new…
MITIGATING THE IMPACT OF THE COURT FEES INCREASE 1: LIMITATION STANDSTILL AGREEMENTS
The general view of the court fee increases is well known. The increases are based on inadequate research and will have a major detrimental effect on the economy as well as the interests of justice. Since the increases are likely…
COURT FEES: IMPORTANT DEVELOPMENTS: IMPLEMENTATION DATE THE 9th MARCH
The Law Society Gazette reports that the implementation date for the revised Court Fees is likely to be the 9th March. It is interesting to look at recent developments and responses. OTHER DEVELOPMENTS Compare and contrast “Justice minister Shailesh Vara…
MORE ON INDEMNITY COSTS AND THE SUMMARY ASSESSMENT OF COSTS AT TRIAL: INTERCITY TELECOMS -v- SOLANKI
NOTE THAT THIS JUDGMENT HAS BEEN OVERTURNED BY THE COURT OF APPEAL, SEE THE POST HERE In Intercity Telecom -v- Solanki [2015] Judge Simon Brown QC awarded indemnity costs and assessed costs at the end of a trial. It is…
THE LADD -v- MARSHALL TEST: WHAT IS MEANT BY "REASONABLE DILIGENCE": A TALE OF COMPUTERS IN COURT
An appeal court will only consider new evidence on very limited grounds. The test in Ladd -v- Marshall [1954] 1 WLR 1489 is that the applicant can show that the evidence could not with reasonable diligence have been obtained for…
Y0UR OPPONENT'S WITNESS STATEMENT CANNOT BE DISCLOSED UNTIL AFTER IT IS USED AT A HEARING IN PUBLIC: A USEFUL REMINDER
The judgment of Mr Justice Warby in Barry -v- Butler [2015] EWHC 447 (QB) contains some important reminders about witness statements. The witness statements received from an opposing party cannot be disclosed generally until they are used at a hearing…
NO RE-ALLOCATION AT THE COURT OF APPEAL STAGE JUST TO GET COSTS: CONLON -v- ROYAL SUN INSURANCE PLC
In Conlon -v- Royal Sun Insurance plc [2015] EWCA Civ 92 the Court of Appeal refused to re-allocate a costs at the appeal stage when the application was made solely for the purpose of attempting to recover costs. THE ISSUES…
SETTING ASIDE JUDGMENT. DELAY AND THE DENTON CRITERIA: ANOTHER IMPORTANT CASE
In Avanesov -v- Shymkentpivo [2015] EWHC 394 (Comm) Mr Justice Popplewell considered the issue of setting aside judgment after a long period of delay by the defendant and the relevance of the Denton criteria. THE CASE The defendant applied to…
MORE ON BUNDLES: THERE IS MUCH TIME & MONEY TO BE SAVED YET
I have often commented (and been surprised) by the fact that a post on preparing trial bundles is always the most popular page on this blog. Following a prompt from Dominic Regan it was interesting to watch the live feed…
INADEQUATE WITNESS STATEMENTS LEAD TO CASE BEING STRUCK OUT AT TRIAL
We have looked at the case of Devon & Cornwall Autistic Community Trust -v- Cornwall Council before. In the first report Mr Justice Green refused an application to adjourn a trial date but gave permission to serve witness evidence late….
ANOTHER EXAMPLE OF A SUCCESSFUL DEFENDANT NOT RECOVERING ALL OF ITS COSTS (AND OF THE ADVANTAGES OF A PART 36 OFFER)
In Altus Group (UK) Limited -v- Baker Tilly [2015] EWHC 411 (Ch) HH Judge Keyser QC (sitting as a High Court Judge) made various orders in relation to the Defendant’s costs. The Defendant did not recover all their costs of…
UNSUCCESSFUL APPEAL AGAINST GRANT OF RELIEF FROM SANCTIONS: HOME GROUP LIMITED -v- MATREJEK
There may be a few appeals pending where a party is arguing that relief from sanctions should be granted on the grounds of the Denton criteria which “modified” the Mitchell test. The unusual aspect of the decision in Home Group…
DECIDING CASES ON PAPER: WOODLANDS, EVIDENCE & DECIDING CASES "ONLINE"
The decision in Woodland -v- Maxwell looked at in an earlier blog is interesting because it is one of the rare cases where the Court of Appeal carried out a (brief) analysis of the evidence in the case more than…
THE PROPOSED COURT FEE INCREASE: ACTION BY THE LAW SOCIETY – READ THE STATISTICS ABOUT ACCESS TO JUSTICE
The Law Society has sent a pre-action protocol letter for judicial review to challenge the government’s proposed increase in court fees. “State provision for people to redress wrongs through the courts is the hallmark of a civilised society.’ THE LAW…
A GAME OF MORE THAN ONE HALF: THE COSTS ORDER IN HAMED -v- TOTTENHAM HOTSPUR
In Hamed -v- Mills & Tottenham Hotspur Football Club [2015] EWHC 298 (QB) Mr Justice Hickinbottom found negligence on the part of a doctor and football club in a claim brought by a professional football player. In a judgment, given…
PLEADINGS MUST BE CONCISE – OR ELSE! TOO MANY COUNSEL SPOILING THE BROTH?
We have looked before at problems caused by over-lengthy pleadings. In Vincent Aziz Tchenguiz -v- Grant Thornton UK LLP [2015] EWHC 405 (Comm) Mr Justice Leggatt provides a virtual “cut out and keep” set of warnings of the dangers of not complying…
IF YOU THINK "BIG MONEY" CASES AMOUNT TO A LICENCE TO INCUR COSTS THEN READ THIS
In Kazakhstan Kagazy PLC -v- Baglan Abdullayevich Zhunus [2015] EWHC 404 (Comm) Mr Justice Leggatt makes important observations about costs; the basis for assessing costs in “big money” cases (if not all cases) and interim costs in a case where the defendants’…
CONSULTATION ON COURT FEES INCREASE : GET INVOLVED
As we all know there are proposals to increase court fees to (frankly ridiculous) amounts. It is important that everyone takes part in the consultation process. (Some may say that the MOJ is about to make the same counter-productive mistakes…
WHOLLY SUCCESSFUL DEFENDANT RECOVERS ONLY TWO-THIRDS OF COSTS BECAUSE OF FAILURE TO ENGAGE IN ADR
In Christian -v- The Commission of Police for the Metropolis [2015] EWHC 371 (QB) Mr Justice Turner considered the costs applications of a failure to a defendant to engage in mediation. THE CASE The claimant was unsuccessful in an action…
LENGTHY BUNDLES AND INTERIM COSTS: OBSERVATIONS FROM THE TECHNOLOGY & CONSTRUCTION COURT
The two judgments of Mr Justice Akenhead in the Secretary of State for the Home Environment -v- Raythean Systems Limited [2014] EWHC 4375 (TCC) and [2015] EWHC 311 (TCC) contain some familiar motifs in relation to the size of bundles,…
ANOTHER CASE WHERE INDEMNITY COSTS AWARDED – FOR PART OF THE CLAIM
There are now several posts on this blog considering the importance of an award for costs on an indemnity basis and cases where judges have considered this issue. Another example can be found in the decision of Stephen Jourdan QC…
PROVING MATTERS BY EVIDENCE: A LESSON FROM THE FAMILY COURT
It is certain that most lawyers involved in childcare matters will read the decision of Sir James Munby in Darlington Borough Council -v- M [2015] EWFC 11. However there are points made in that judgment of general relevance to all…
SHOULD A SECOND ACTION BE STRUCK OUT AS AN ABUSE OF PROCESS? AN ISSUE COMING TO THE COURT OF APPEAL SOON
There is an important note in the news section of Hardwicke Chambers website. The Court of Appeal has granted permission to appeal in a case where the judge refused to strike out a second action issued after a first action…
MORE ON SUMMARY ASSESSMENT OF COSTS & PROPORTIONALITY: NOT GOING FOR A SONG
The issue of proportionate costs was considered by Judge Behrens in Taylor -v- Bell & Haworth (16th February 2015). It provides a useful example of judicial comments in relation to disproportional costs. THE CASE The applicant was seeking a variation of…
WITHDRAWING FROM ADMISSIONS, MISTAKES AND THE DENTON PRINCIPLES
There is a report on Lawtel of the decision of Judge Bidder QC in Moore -v- Worcestershire Acute Hospitals NHS Trust [12/02/15].* This case demonstrates some of the difficult issues in relation to the law of withdrawing from admissions. THE…
FOR TWO DOLLARS MORE: THE DANGERS OF NOT SENDING THE CORRECT COURT FEE
I am grateful to Gerard McDermott QC for sending me details from the American Bar Association Journal of a £2.5 million case in Powhattan Circuit Court where a $2.5 million dollar action failed because the court fee was incorrect by…
WHO SAYS THAT YOU'LL WIN NOTHING WITH KIDS? THE WITNESS EVIDENCE IN WOODLAND -v- MAXWELL CONSIDERED
The case of Woodland -v- Maxwell [2015] EWHC 273 (QB) is almost a procedural epic. It has involved one trip to the Court of Appeal to allow a withdrawal of admissions and a further trip to the Supreme Court on…
IN A DOG EAT DOG WORLD MAKE SURE YOU GET YOUR WITNESS STATEMENTS RIGHT (OR DON'T LET YOUR WITNESSES RABBIT ON WITHOUT GOOD EVIDENCE)
The judgment of Mr Justice Arnold in Supreme Petfoods Limited -v- Henry Bell & Co (Grantham) Limited [2015] EWHC 256 (Ch) contains a detailed analysis of the law relating to trade marks. Thanks to technology the judgment contains some vivid…
SUMMARY ASSESSMENT OF COSTS: ANOTHER EXAMPLE: SAY IT WITH FLOWERS
We have looked, several times, at judgments which contain summary assessment of costs. Not least to get a flavour of the approach of the courts. An assessment took place by Mr Justice Birss in Interflora -v- Marks & Spencer…
EXPERT EVIDENCE ABOUT THE VERACITY OF WITNESSES: WELL, IT IS PROBABLY A WASTE OF TIME
In Wigan Council -v- C [2015] EWFC 8 Mr Justice Peter Jackson raised considerable doubts as to whether an expert report on the potential veracity of child witnesses was of much value to a judge. It is a family case…
LITIGANTS IN PERSON INCREASE USE OF RESOURCES NOT SAVE THEM: COURT OF APPEAL DECISION
In Linder -v- Rawlins [2015] EWCA Civ 61 the Court of Appeal dismissed the appeal of a litigant in person appealing in relation to certain aspects of disclosure in a divorce petition. What is particularly telling is that part of…
WITNESS STATEMENTS AND "LITIGATION WISHFUL THINKING"
It is surprising how many cases turn, in essence, on the judge’s assessment of the credibility of the witnesses. In assessing the evidence on your own, and the other wise, litigators must be aware of the concept, and dangers, of…
WHAT THE JACKSON REPORT SAID ABOUT COURT FEES: TOO HIGH AND SHOULD BE USED TO IMPROVE CIVIL JUSTICE SYSTEM
The government, and the Ministry of Justice in particular, has been keen to advocate and implement the Jackson reports. The costs of litigation should be proportional and, in effect, this means reduced. However in all the discussions in relation to…
JOINDER OF A PARTY FOR COSTS, INDEMNITY COSTS & COMMENTS ON COSTS OUTSIDE THE COSTS BUDGET: EXCELERATE TECHNOLOGY ROUND 2
We looked earlier at the observations on costs in giving judgment in Excelerate Technology Ltd -v- Cumberbatch [2015] EWHC B1 Mercantile. A supplementary judgment on the costs issues is now available. It contains the rationale for the matters discussed in the…
WHEN WILL INDEMNITY COSTS BE ORDERED? A HIGH COURT DECISION CONSIDERED
Indemnity costs now carry extra weight in that, on assessment, the court is not bound by the principle of proportionality. In Siegel -v- Pummell [2015] EWHC 195 (QB) Mr Justice Wilkie reviewed the relevant principles in relation to indemnity costs….
EARLY CONTENDERS FOR WORST PUNS ON CIVIL CASES 2015: YOU JUDGE THE STANDARD
In the annual review of civil litigation of 2014 there was an easy winner for the case that gave rise to the most, and worst, puns. There is an early contender for this award in 2015. Since this competition is…
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