SERVICE BY E-MAIL: ALLOWED BY THE HIGH COURT SO THAT INJUNCTION COULD BE EFFECTIVE
In JPH -v- XYZ [2015] EWHC (a decision made this Saturday!) Mr Justice Popplewell made an order allowing service by e-mail. THE CASE The claimant was bringing an injunction to prevent “revenge porn”. An application was made without notice to…
SERVICE OF THE CLAIM FORM: A SORRY TALE OF A DOUBLE WHAMMY
We have looked at the case of Dzekova -v- Thomas Eggar LLP [2015] EWHC 2600 (QB) briefly before. However the full transcript has become available. It reveals a sorry tale of woe and yet another case of problems with service….
EXTENDING TIME FOR SERVING PARTICULARS OF CLAIM: AN APPLICATION AHEAD OF TIME SAVES THE DAY
In Lachaux -v- Independent Print Ltd [2015] EWHC 1847 (QB) Mr Justice Nicol considered the question of whether the court has power to prospectively order an extension of time for service of the particulars of claim. He also considered the…
ANOTHER MIS-SERVED CLAIM FORM: CLAIMANTS DO NOT PASS GO AND DO NOT GET TO THE BANK
There are a number of issues considered by Mr Justice Arnold in Chopra -v- Bank of Singapore [2015] EWHC 1549 (Ch). However the claimants failed at the very first, and very familiar, hurdle – service of the claim form. THE…
COCKELL –v- HOLTON AND MISLEADING HEADLINES: IT WASN'T THE WRONG EMAIL ADDRESS THAT KILLED THE COUNTERCLAIM
There are many reports in the legal press that deal with the relief from sanctions issue in Cockell -v- Holton (No 2) [2015] EWHC 1117 (TCC). Many of these concentrate upon the initial failure to lodge the pleading at court because…
FOREIGN JUDGMENTS, EXTENSIONS OF TIME AND RELIEF FROM SANCTIONS
In Christofi -v- National Bank of Greece (Cyprus) Ltd [2015] EWHC 986 (QB) Mrs Justice Andrews DBE considered whether the court had power to extend time in relation to an application to set aside registration of a foreign judgment. She…
IS SERVICE OF AN UNSEALED CLAIM FORM GOOD SERVICE? NOW THAT'S A QUESTION
In Heron Bros Ltd -v- Central Bedfordshire Council [2015] EWHC 604 (TCC) Mr Justice Edwards-Stuart considered the question of whether service of an unsealed claim form is good service. In most cases the answer is probably “no”. However the judge…
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…
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…
GET BUNDLES AND SKELETON ARGUMENTS TO COURT – OR ELSE: CHIEF CONSTABLE COPS IT
There is a brief report on Lawtel today of the case of Marsh -v- Ministry of Justice (QB Phillips J 20/01/2015)*. It provides an object lesson on the need for all parties (and non-parties) to lodge – or re-lodge -…
SERVICE OF THE CLAIM FORM: E-MAILING A COPY IS NOT GOOD SERVICE (AND WON'T BE EXCUSED)
Service of the claim form raises its head for the second time in two days. In Dunbar Assets Plc -v- BCP Premier Limited [2014] EWHC 10 (Ch) Mr John Baldwin QC (sitting as a Deputy Judge) overturned an order that…
SIX MONTH PERIOD FOR SERVICE, EVEN IF "FOREIGN" DEFENDANT ACTUALLY SERVED WITHIN THE JURISDICTION
Another interesting twist to the law of service of proceedings can be found in the Court of Appeal decision in Ashley -v- Tesco Stores (15/01/2015)*. The Court of Appeal found that there was a six month period for service of…
SERVICE OF THE CLAIM FORM: WHAT CAN POSSIBLY GO WRONG? TEN SIMPLE POINTS TO MAKE LIFE EASIER
Service of the claim form remain a major cause of problems. Here we re-cap on the basic causes of many of the problems, with links through to the many posts on this subject. 1. NOT SERVING THE CLAIM FORM IN…
CIVIL LITIGATION: REVIEW OF 2014: PROLIXITY, SANCTIONS, CREATIVE WRITING AND MUCH MORE
It is coming to that time of the year where everyone does an annual review. We civil litigators cannot be left out. Here is an annual review for the past 12 months. If people want to make additional suggestions in…
APPLICATIONS TO SET ASIDE DEFAULT JUDGMENT & THE MITCHELL/DENTON PRINCIPLES: ANOTHER HIGH COURT CASE
There are now several cases that deal with how the “Mitchell/Denton” principles effect applications to have judgment set aside. In Robinson -v- Kensington & Chelsea Royal London Borough (Sir Michael Tugendhat 03/011.204 QB)* a default judgment was set aside on…
LITIGATION AFTER JACKSON (POST DENTON EDITION): 12 POINT SURVIVAL GUIDE
In August last year I wrote Litigation after Jackson a 10 point Survival Guide. All of the points made in that post remain valid. I have added another 2 to deal with the situation post -Denton. The biggest danger, post…
SERVICE OF THE CLAIM FORM: THE IMPORTANCE OF SERVING AT THE RIGHT PLACE AND THE RIGHT TIME: ANOTHER CLAIMANT COMES TO GRIEF
This is the third case on service of the claim form reported on this blog in two days, which may be significant. The strict rules on service pre-dated Jackson/Mitchell by over a decade and yet practitioners regularly come to grief. …
“NO CREDIT TO OUR CIVIL JUSTICE SYSTEM” WHAT CONSTITUTES TAKING STEPS TO BRING THE CLAIM FORM TO THE ATTENTION OF THE DEFENDANT?
“This depressing litigation reflects no credit on our civil justice system. It is yet another example of wasteful satellite litigation unconcerned with the merits of the underlying claim. The Claimant alone escapes censure” Tomlinson L J in Power v Meloy…
SERVICE OF THE CLAIM FORM CAN BE A PROBLEM FOR DEFENDANTS TOO: ACT PROMPTLY OR YOU HAVE ACCEPTED JURISDICTION
Issues relating to service of the claim form are always problematic for claimants . They can, however, be problematic for defendants as well. . This is demonstrated by the decision of Eder J in Nwoko –v- Oyo State of Nigeria…
COSTS DRAFTSMAN SIGNING COSTS BUDGET DOES NOT RENDER IT A NULLITY: HIGH COURT DECISION TODAY CONSIDERED
There may be no end to the Mitchell points being taken. In a case earlier today, Americhem Europe Ltd -v- Rakem Ltd [2014] EWHC 1881 (TCC) e Mr Justice Stuart-Smith considered an argument that the costs budget signed by a…
PROVING SOMETHING HAS BEEN POSTED: SWEAR IT TO BE TRUE
I initially read the Court of Appeal decision of Price -v- Price [2014[ EWCA] Civ with interest because it showed that the old CPR 3.9 still applied in family proceedings. However Jon Williams pointed out that the case has an…
WITNESS STATEMENTS: NOT ONE BUT TWO "ESSENTIAL CHECKLISTS"
Earlier posts have documented how these checklists were made. The prequel to the essential checklist sets out matters that practitioners have to watch. Here I set out the checklist prepared by the group “Stating the Obvious”. It is no…
“A DISMAL CATALOGUE OF CONFUSION AND ERROR”: SERVICE OF THE CLAIM FORM, COURT ERRORS AND OTHER MISHAPS
An article in the Law Society Gazette this week reported a denial by the Ministry of Justice that the civil court system had been affected by austerity. Perhaps the MOJ should read the decision in Stoute -v- LT Operations Ltd…
SERVICE OF THE CLAIM FORM: SERVICE AT “LAST KNOWN” ADDRESS: MORE DANGEROUS POINTS TO WATCH
Following the previous posts as to issues and problems relating to service of the claim form some responses have highlighted the difficulties of service at the “last known address”. The rules here are somewhat complex, a detailed knowledge is necessary….
A WORD ABOUT BUNDLES: MORE VIEWS FROM THE BENCH: RULES APPLY TO JUDICIAL REVIEW TOO
The article I wrote on trial bundles remains one of the most visited posts on this blog. It is always one of the most visited posts each working day. Proper preparation can make a major different to the efficient…
THE CRITERIA TO BE APPLIED WHEN A PARTY MAKES AN APPLICATION AHEAD OF THE DATE OF THE BREACH: THE ROBERT CRITERIA CONSIDERED
In Kaneria -v- Kaneria [2014] EWHC 1165 (Ch) it was made clear that Mitchell principles did not apply in cases where an application was made prior to the date of breach. The principles in Robert -v- Momentum Services [2003] EWCA…
WHAT IS THE DATE OF SERVICE? THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN THE “DEEMED” DATE OF SERVICE AND THE “EFFECTED” DATE OF SERVICE
T & L SUGARS LTD V TATE & LYLE INDUSTRIES LTD [2014] EWHC 1066 Problems with service and the date of service continue to abound. They have always been subject to a much stricter regime. In particular the date of…
SERVICE BY E-MAIL: IMPORTANT DECISION IN INTEGRAL -v- SCU FINANZ ON CPR 3.10
There is an important discussion of the effect of serving by e-mail by Popplewell J in the case of Integral Petroleum SA -v- SCU Finanz SA [2014] EWHC 702 (Comm) The decision relates to serving process by electronic…
SERVICE OF DOCUMENTS BY E-MAIL: A USEFUL BLAST FROM THE PAST
The problems of serving by e-mail have been discussed several times on this blog. The need for the recipient to “opt in” to receipt coupled with potential problems in proving service can give rise to difficulties. I know from e-mails…
DELAYING SERVICE OF THE CLAIM FORM: “DICING WITH PROCEDURAL DEATH”: ANOTHER EXAMPLE OF A CLAIMANT BUILDING PROBLEMS FOR ITSELF
There are real dangers in leaving service of the claim form until the last moment. The Lincolnshire case considered here exemplifies the problems. . The judge pulled no punches in relation to the risks being run by those who…
MAKING SURE YOUR COMPLIANCE IS SHIP SHAPE: LAKATAMIA SHIPPING CO LTD –V- NOBU SU CONSIDERED IN DETAIL
This decision by Hamblen J and reported at [2014] EWHC 275 was dealt with briefly last week. Here we take a detailed look at the case which involves several issues, including: Time for compliance with an order. The meaning of…
THE DANGERS OF SERVING BY E-MAIL: A WORKING EXAMPLE
A recent post looked at potential problems with serving documents by e-mail. That this is a very real issue is shown by a report of a decision sent to me by counsel. The full details of the case are withheld. …
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