When I started this series I never anticipated it would run to 100 posts. Up until last week I had planned to stop after 100. However the Leeds Legal Walk served, inadvertently, as a feedback session for this blog. Since…
The judgment of Mr Justice Turner today in Rashid v Munir & Ors [2018] EWHC 1258 (QB) illustrates the difficult task of the trial judge when all of the witnesses are strangers to the truth. “Attempting to establish the common but…
I am grateful to Dominic Regan for sending me a copy of the judgment of Mrs Justice Andrews today in Gee -v- Depuy International Ltd [2018] EWHC 1208. The judgment is 762 paragraphs long and will be widely read by…
The opinion of a single joint expert is not binding on the court. This is clear from the judgment of Mr Justice Turner today in HJ v Burton Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust [2018] EWHC 1227 (QB) “The opinion of a single…
I am returning to the decision of Mr Justice Martin Spencer today in Lesforis v Tolias [2018] EWHC 1225 (QB). This time in the context of proving, or refuting, allegations of negligence. There was a simple route by which the defendant could have…
Most of the posts on bundles on this blog have been judges complaining about their quality or quantity. It is worthwhile looking at the observations of Mr Justice Martin Spencer today in Lesforis v Tolias [2018] EWHC 1225 (QB) (of which…
In Worthington & Anor v Metropolitan Housing Trust Ltd [2018] EWCA Civ 1125 the Court of Appeal upheld a decision that a housing association had unlawfully harassed its own tenants. A major part of the problem came from the association’s highly…
In this post I am recommending you read “The Art of Advocacy: Twenty Tips for your First Court Appearance” a post on the “Survive Law” blog. Unlike the other posts in these series this is written by Jennifer who was a…
One of the hardest tasks of litigation is trying to assess the credibility of a witness, particularly your own witness. Litigants can (and often do) have strong views about the case and what they said and did. The fact that…
The judgment in Auckland v Khan & Anor [2018] EWCA Civ 1148 is in short form. However it does illustrate the difficulties of appealing on “pleading points” and findings of fact. “There are certainly cases in which the failure to put…
In Various Claimants v WM Morrison Supermarkets Plc [2018] EWHC 1123 Mr Justice Langstaff held that the claimants’ conduct of the claim led to unnecessary costs being incurred. Consequentially the defendant was ordered to pay the claimants 40% of the…
It is surprising how many witness statements I have read (both in practice and in the reports) that contain invective material. Litigants appear to think it important, and effective, that they disparage their opponents. Litigants should be warned that this…
When the rules committee re-introduced the concept of “automatic striking out” into the rules it was always going to cause problems. A case can be automatically struck out for failure to pay the trial fee in time. However some Court…
In Société Générale v Goldas Kuyumculuk Sanayi Ithalat Ihracat AS & Ors [2018] EWCA Civ 1093 the Court of Appeal considered a claimant’s appeal where the judge had refused to allow an alternative method of service or to dispense with service….
There are two sources for this post. The first is a blog by Lucy Reed on Pink Tape “It’s not my job to believe you – here’s why” ; the second is the judgment in Ruffell -v- Lovatt HHJ Hughes 4 April 2018. …
Crown Office Chambers have a short post on their website that deals with the judgment in Ruffell -v- Lovatt HHJ Hughes 4 April 2018. The post provides a link to the judgment itself. The judgment is another example of a…
Just to keep people up to date with the recent posts about the Ministry of Justice and the disclosure of the research in relation to litigants in person. The MOJ has now been reported to the Information Commissioner. A RECAP…
Following on from the recent post on drafting schedules and Wright v Satellite Information Services Ltd [2018] EWHC 812 (QB) I am presenting a webinar on schedules of damages on the 4th July 2018, looking at these issues in more detail,…
The judgment today in Harrap v Brighton & Sussex University Hospitals NHS Trust [2018] EWHC 1063 (QB) illustrates the importance of taking adequate witness statements. It shows that a failure to review the situation and take a full proof of evidence…
There are some audacious applications. However an application by defendants that attempts to dictate who the claimant’s litigation friend should be, and who their solicitor should be, should – at the very least – be backed up by firm evidence. …
Last week I commented on Buzzfeed’s piece on research that the MOJ carried out on litigants in person. After a freedom of information request the MOJ, reluctantly, handed over a six page summary of research it carried out on litigants…
Today I am recommending you read the work of Judge Swami Raghaven in the Law Society Advocacy Section “Top tips for tribunal advocacy”. It is aimed at solicitors who conduct cases before tribunals. The article contains much of interest to…
I cannot remember the last time I read a case where the Court of Appeal heard evidence from witnesses (who had not been heard below) and made a request that it have sight of original documents. This is what happened…
The observations made by Mr Justice Andrew Baker in Orascom Tmt Investments SARL v Veon Ltd [2018] EWHC 985 (Comm) are of general interest. They highlight the need for statements of case to be properly particularised and also highlight the dangerous…
If there is a league for blogs with the most number of posts about bundles then Civil Litigation Brief may well be in the top 10 (sadly I suspect even in the top place). There is a reason for this….
The judgment of John Martin QC (sitting as a High Court judge) in London College of Business Ltd v Tareem Ltd & Anor [2018] EWHC 437 (Ch) is a prime example of a failure to prove damages. The claim was…
This blog has looked, many times, at the importance of giving the source of information and belief when a party (and particularly when a legal representative) makes a witness statement. It is sometimes possible for you opponent to attempt to…
There are many matters of interest in the short judgment of Mr Justice Turner in Watkins, R (On the Application Of) v Newcastle Upon Tyne County Court [2018] EWHC 1029, a rare example of a party trying to judicially review a…
There are a number of issues that arise in the judgment of Mrs Justice Yip in the judgment today Clark v Farley & Anor [2018] EWHC 1007 (QB). It shows how how a defendant failed to prove its case and the…
In the second of this series we are going to Australia. More accurately to Queensland to look at the advice given by Fleur Kingham, President of the Land Court of Queensland. The lecture was given in the QLS Modern Advocate…
Although the Denton principles are much more settled it is prudent to keep a weather eye on cases where they are considered. His Honour Judge Davis-White QC (sitting as a judge of the Chancery Division in Leeds) applied the Denton principles in a…
This weekend I reported on the decision of District Judge Read that expressed profound concern about the fate of litigants of person in a family law case. Hats off to BuzzFeed which, after a tussle and an appeal to the…
In Jallow v Ministry of Defence [2018] EWHC B7 (Costs) Master Rowley rejected an argument that the settlement of a claim for a sum less than that claimed and a reduction in hourly rates for incurred costs represented “good reasons”…
In Wall v Munday [2018] EWHC 879 (Ch) HHJ Paul Matthews (sitting as a High Court Judge) allowed an appeal in relation to costs. The judge at first instance had ordered the claimant to pay 80% of the defendant’s costs. That…
In an earlier post about the case of P (A Child), Re [2018] EWCA Civ 720 we looked at an example where the parties (all the parties in the case) had correctly used the guidance in English v Emery Reimbold and Strick Ltd [2002]…
John Vater QC, writing on Twitter, has – rightly- categorised the District Judge Read as a “hero”. When giving judgment in JY v RY [2018] EWFC B16 the judge made a number of telling observations about the profound implications of lack…
In The National Council for Civil Liberties (Liberty), R (On the Application Of) v Secretary of State for the Home Department & Anor (Procedural Matters) [2018] HC 976 (Admin) the Divisional Court took care to file a supplemental judgment that dealt…
I had no plans for a further series on judge’s advice advocacy. However my hand was forced. I had to share the talk given by Lord Justice Irwin given to the Professional Negligence Bar Association on the 17th April. It…
The criminal and family courts have developed sophisticated methods for dealing with vulnerable witnesses. There is relatively little guidance in the civil courts. This was an issue noted yesterday in the interim report of Independent Inquiry Child Sex Abuse. Here…
This post is caused by some comments on Twitter this evening. A surprising number of cases where parties have, by one method or other, disclosed a Part 36 offer. This has been done by including the offers in the trial…
The short judgment of Mr Justice Holman in Matthews v Matthews & Anor [2018] EWHC 906 (Fam) looks like a family case. However it is an inheritance claim and contains some surprising revelations. KEY POINTS If you are asking a judge…
I am grateful to barrister Simon Bradshaw for pointing out that there is a new Practice Direction in force in relation to insolvency procedure. This was introduced today and comes into effect immediately. CHANGES The PD now refers to the…
I was reminded yesterday that many of the people who read this blog do not have Twitter. They will not therefore know the result of the Secret Barrister T-shirt auction. A tale of high drama, contractual confusion, and eventual salvation …
In Farah v Abdullahi & Ors [2018] EWHC 738 (QB) Master Davison rejected an application by an insurer to set aside an order that allowed service of an unnamed driver upon the insurer. It was irrelevant that the insurer had obtained…
In Hickey v The Secretary of State for Work and Pensions [2018] EWCA Civ 851 the Court of Appeal set out, in categorical terms, that parties should comply with the provisions relating to permission to appeal. In particular a party cannot…
In Williams v The Secretary of State for Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy [2018] EWCA Civ 852 the Court of Appeal considered the issue of the personal injury protocol and fixed costs. It was held that CPR 44 has sufficient width…
It is rare for a book about law to hit the best seller lists. It is even rarer for a law book to have merchandising. The Secret Barrister’s book, however, has produced a limited number of T-Shirts. To raise money…
The opportunities for puns arising out of the issues in Martinez (t/a Prick) & Anor v Prick Me Baby One More Time Ltd (t/a Prick) & Anor [2018] EWHC 776 (IPEC) are obvious (and indeed are mentioned in the judgment itself)….
The final part of this trilogy on the judgment today in Ali & Anor v Channel 5 Broadcast Ltd [2018] EWHC 840 (Ch) shows why the defendant will be kicking themselves for not filing a costs budget. Some defendants are fairly…
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