THE PARTICULARS OF CLAIM WERE TOO LONG, TOO CONFUSING AND DID NOT COMPLY WITH THE RULES.
In Halsion Limited v St Thomas Street Development Limited [2023] EWHC 2045 (TCC) HHJ Cawson KC, sitting as a High Court Judge, struck out the claimant’s Particulars of Claim. The Particulars were too long and rambling and failed to comply…
“GIVEN THE INCOMPETENT WAY THE LITIGATION HAD BEEN CONDUCTED TO DATE”: CIRCUIT JUDGE WAS RIGHT TO REFUSE AND ADJOURNMENT AND RIGHT IN STRIKING OUT THE CLAIM
In Brem v Clark & Anor [2023] EWHC 1358 (KB) Mr Justice Martin Spencer dismissed an appeal against a decision to strike out an action. The claimant’s counsel failed to attend at the hearing, but the judge was correct to…
CLAIMANT’S CONVENTION CLAIM DISMISSED FOLLOWING ATTEMPT TO AMEND AFTER THE EXPIRY OF THE LIMITATION PERIOD
I am grateful to Barrister Katherine Howells for sending me a copy of the judgment in Hallett -v- TUI Airways Limited, a copy of which is available here Approved Judgment Hallett v TUI Airways Limited. The case deals with the…
PROVING THINGS 227: IF YOU ARE GOING TO ALLEGE THAT LAWYERS WERE NEGLIGENT IN NOT CALLING EVIDENCE THEN YOU REALLY SHOULD REALLY HAVE THAT EVIDENCE TO HAND
The decision in Murithi & Ors v AVH Legal LLP (t/a Tandem Law) & Ors [2023] EWHC 1245 (KB) has in some ways a profound irony. A case alleging negligence by lawyers for failing to call evidence itself failed because…
THE JUDGE WAS WRONG TO STRIKE OUT A PROPERLY PLEADED CLAIM IN A PERSONAL INJURY CASE: JUDGE’S SHOULD BE ASTUTE TO DEAL WITH APPLICATIONS TO STRIKE OUT WHICH ARE, IN REALITY, APPLICATIONS FOR SUMMARY JUDGMENT
The judgment of Mr Justice Choudhury in Kasongo v CRBE Ltd & Anor [2023] EWCA Civ 557 demonstrates the danger when a defendant makes an application to strike out a statement of case. The judge allowed an appeal where a…
ANOTHER CLAIM FORM CASE – BUT WITH A DIFFERENCE: ACTION STRUCK OUT BECAUSE CLAIM FORM CONTAINED NO FACTS AT ALL
In Free Leisure Ltd (t/a “Cirque Le Soir”) v Peidl And Company Ltd & Anor [2023] EWHC 792 (Comm) Charles Hollander KC, sitting as a High Court judge considered the appropriate course when the “facts” section of the claim form…
DELAY BY THE CLAIMANT WAS NOT “WAREHOUSING” AND DID NOT LEAD TO A STRIKE OUT: A PARTY ALLEGING DELAY WAS ABUSE MUST ACT PROMPTLY
There are several significant aspects to the judgment of Mr Justice Eyre in Morgan Sindall Construction and Infrastructure Ltd v Capita Property and Infrastructure (Structures) Ltd & Anor [2023] EWHC 166 (TCC). Firstly the distinction between proceedings issued for the…
MAKING A MISTAKE ON THE DAMAGES CLAIM PORTAL IS NOT NECESSARILY AN ABUSE OF PROCESS: AN APPLICATION THAT PROVED COSTLY FOR THE DEFENDANT
I am grateful to Express Solicitors for sending me a report of a decision in Oxford County Court relating to the Damages Claim Portal. The claimant had used the Portal to issue against the Crown. The Portal cannot be used…
THE COURT OF APPEAL, STRIKING OUT AND PLEADING THE CASE PROPERLY: PARTICULARS OF CLAIM SHOULD HELP NOT HINDER
There has already been much publicity surrounding the Court of Appeal decision in HXA v Surrey County Council [2022] EWCA Civ 1196. The Court of Appeal overturned decisions where actions were struck out, holding that the issues in question should…
THE THIRD PARTY (RIGHTS AGAINST INSURERS) ACT 2010 AND THE DATE OF “ACTIONABLE DAMAGE”: COURT REFUSES TO STRIKE OUT THE CLAIMANT’S CASE
In the judgment today in Brooks v Zurich Insurance Public Ltd Co & Anor [2022] EWHC 1170 (QB) Master Davison refused an application to strike out an action against insurers under the provisions of the Third Party (Rights Against Insurers)…
WHY YOU SHOULDN’T BANK ON SUMMARY JUDGMENT: THE COURT SHOULD NOT CONDUCT A “MINI TRIAL” ON SUMMARY JUDGMENT APPLICATIONS
In Philipp v Barclays Bank UK Plc [2022] EWCA Civ 318 the Court of Appeal allowed an appeal against an order giving the defendant summary judgment in favour of the defendant bank. The court emphasised that summary judgment applications should…
ACTION STRUCK OUT WHEN CLAIMANT GIVES WRONG ADDRESS ON THE CLAIM FORM
I am grateful to solicitor Hamish Cameron Blackie for sending me a copy of the judgment of HHJ Bloom in Conlon -v- Ringway Infrastructure Services Ltd (County Court at Luton, 2nd December 2021) where the judge struck out an action…
CASE STRUCK OUT DUE TO CLAIMANT’S INACTIVITY: YOU CAN’T “WAREHOUSE” A COURT ACTION
In Alfozan v Quastel Midgen LLP [2022] EWHC 66 (Comm) HHJ Pearce (sitting as a High Court judge) struck out an action on the grounds of the claimant’s delay. The case had been “warehoused” and the claimant had not adduced…
“NO SERIOUS PRIVATE PAYING LITIGANT” WOULD CONTEMPLATE SPENDING £50,000 IN COSTS FOR A £3,000 CLAIM: ACTION SHOULD NEVER HAVE BEEN ISSUED IN THE HIGH COURT
In Johnson v Eastlight Community Homes Ltd [2021] EWHC 3069 (QB) Master Thornett accepted, in large part, a defendant’s application in a case where a claim for £3,000 had been issued in the High Court and the costs claimed by…
CHALLENGE TO JURISDICTION OF THE COURT WAS AN APPROPRIATE STEP IN AN ACTION BROUGHT BY A “REDUNDANT” SOLDIER
There is a procedural issue considered in the judgment of Mr Justice Martin Spencer in Malone v Ministry of Defence [2021] EWHC 2958 (QB). The judge held that it was appropriate for the Ministry of Defence, facing a claim in…
CONSTRUING PEREMPTORY ORDERS: THE DATE FOR COMPLIANCE IS THE DATE FOR COMPLIANCE: COURT OF APPEAL DECISION
In Poule Securities Ltd v Howe & Ors [2021] EWCA Civ 1373 the Court of Appeal considered the construction of an “unless” order. It was held that the date for compliance on the order had to be construed as the…
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…
COSTS OUTSIDE THE COSTS BUDGET WHEN A PARTY IS LIMITED TO COURT FEES: STRIKING OUT, RELIEF FROM SANCTIONS, ADMINSTRATIVE ERRORS BY THE COURT, ABORTIVE COURT HEARINGS: ALL PROCEDURAL LIFE IS HERE…
The decision of Mr Justice Marcus Smith in Pasricha v Pasricha [2021] EWHC 1017 (Ch) contains a consideration of the circumstances in which a court can order costs to be paid to a party when their budget has been limited…
WHEN JUDGE READS A DRAFT STATEMENT AND A FINAL STATEMENT (& THERE ARE SOME IMPORTANT DIFFERENCES): LITIGANT REFUSED PERMISSION TO RELY ON EVIDENCE THAT COULD HAVE BEEN BEFORE THE COURT AT THE ORIGINAL HEARING
The judgment of Mr Justice Francis in Brack v Brack [2020] EWHC 2142 (Fam) is an example of a case where the judge has the opportunity to see a draft statement and a final statement. The judge struck out an…
UNLESS ORDER MADE WHEN THE CLAIMANT HAD NOT PAID AN INTERLOCUTORY ORDER FOR COSTS
In Junejo v New Vision TV Ltd [2021] EWHC 449 (QB) Deputy Master Hill QC made a peremptory order that the claimant pay an order for costs. However that payment was to be by instalments. There is a useful review…