In Darini -v- Markerstudy Group (24th April 2017) His Honour Judge Dight considered an important issue in relation to set off and costs. A copy of the judgment is available here. HMC25855_DariniOlsoyvMarkerstudy_ApprovedJudgment_24042017 (2) and has kindly been provided by Gavin Lampert…
I recommend that all litigators read Wigapedia’s “Jargon Buster Litigation Edition” in Legal Cheek. As ever Wigapedia is cruel but fair in his definitions – “Brief – a document which very rarely is”. With Wigapedia’s permission I am taking up…
In Interactive Technology Corporation Limited -v- Ferster [2017] EWGC 1510 (Ch) Mr Justice Morgan held that the existence of Part 36 offers by the defendants meant that the issue of costs after a preliminary hearing had to be reserved to…
In Astex Therapeutics Limited -v- Astranzenca AB [2017] EWHC 1442 (Ch) Mr Justice Arnold considered lengthy and complex issues in relation to compounds. However even in a case of such complexity the evidence of the experts should have been more…
In Astex Therapeutics Limited -v- Astranzenca AB [2017] EWHC 1442 (Ch) Mr Justice Arnold considered, and robustly dismissed, an argument that the court should draw adverse inferences from absent witnesses. “I find it extraordinary that it can be suggested that…
How definitive is a costs budget when it comes to detailed assessment? That is an issue that has been troubling the courts now for a few years. The judgment of the Court of Appeal today in Harrison -v- University Hospitals…
SUMMARY JUDGMENT FOR THE DEFENDANT IN A FATAL ACCIDENT CASE: DODD -V- RAEBARN IN THE COURT OF APPEAL
I am grateful to my colleague Colm Nugent for supplying me with a copy of the judgment in Dodd -v- Raeburn [2017] EWCA Civ 439 *given today the Court of Appeal upheld an order giving summary judgment in a fatal…
In NRC Holding Limited -v- Danilitskiy [2017] EWHC 1431 (Ch) Robin Dicker QC, sitting as a High Court judge, considered the inferences that should be drawn when a key individual did not give evidence. THE CASE The claimant had a…
In Morris -v- Hatch [2017] EWHC 1448 (Ch) HHJ Paul Matthews (sitting as a judge of the High Court) refused to set aside a witness summons issued against a solicitor. “… it is the civic duty of each of us,…
In Gladwin -v- Bogescu [2017] EWHC 1287 (QB) Mr Justice Turner overturned an order giving the claimant relief from sanctions following late service of the witness statement. In the third of the series looking at the case more closely we…
In Vilvarajah -v- West London Law Limited [2017] EWHC B23 (Costs) Master Gordon Saker declared a conditional fee agreement unreasonable and set it aside. The history and circumstances of this action make for interesting reading. “There is no correspondence between…
The opening words of Mr Justice Turner’s judgment in Select Car Rentals (North West) Limited -v- Esure Services Limited [2017] EWHC 1434 (QB) contain an undeniable truth. The judge was upholding a decision to award costs against a car hire…
There are a surprising number of cases and appeals in relation to late service of witness evidence. In Byrne -v- Mullan [2017] EWHC 1387 (Ch) the claimant made an application to adduce new witness evidence which was heard on the…
In Gladwin -v- Bogescu [2017] EWHC 1287 (QB) Mr Justice Turner overturned an order giving the claimant relief from sanctions following late service of the witness statement. In the second of the series looking at the case more closely we…
It was only after an email exchange today that I realised some people do not realise that there are often links on this site to the cases that are being discussed. LINKS AND HOW TO FIND THEM When a…
In Shaw -v- Medtronic [2017] EWHC 1397 (QB) Mr Justice Lavender considered issues relating to the setting aside of notices of discontinuance and disapplying QOCS. He declined to set aside a notice of discontinuance or give permission to enforce costs…
In Gladwin -v- Bogescu [2017] EWHC 1287 (QB) Mr Justice Turner overturned an order giving the claimant relief from sanctions following late service of the witness statement. In a series looking at the case more closely we look at what…
One thing that the the Denton decision did, without doubt*, was to put an end to the “mandatory” requirement for a “good reason” to explain a breach when applying for relief from sanctions. However it is always incumbent upon…
In ICAP Management Services Limited -v- Berry [2017] EWHC 1321 (QB) Mr Justice Garnham added his voice to those judges who have protested about the length of skeleton arguments and written submissions and the burden of unnecessary documents. “It is…
In Gladwin -v- Bogescu [2017] EWHC 1287 (QB) Mr Justice Turner uses the English language to its full effect when ruling that a claimant who served a witness statement late should not have been granted relief from sanctions. The case…
I have no intention of taking this blog into areas of taxation and customs and excise. However the judgment of the First-tier Tribunal (Tax) in E -v- The Commissioners for Her Majesty’s Revenue & Customs [2017] UKFTT 348 (TCC) contains…
In Lexlaw Ltd -v- Zuberi [2017] EWHC 1350 (Ch) Master Clark considered challenges to the validity of a damages based agreement between solicitor and client. It was decided that the question of the enforceability of the agreement should be tried…
The judgment in Redbourn Group Ltd -v- Fairgate Development Limited [2017] EWHC 1223 (TCC) highlights the fact that there is a new age for a party seeking to set judgment aside. Not only does the party have to satisfy the requirements of…
In The Queen on the application of Bhandal -v- HM Revenue and Customs [2016] EWHC 3387 (Admin) Mr Justice Holroyde dismissed an application deferment of an order to pay costs and an application for relief from sanctions in making the…
In Croke -v-Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government [2017] EWCA Civ 423 Lord Justice Hickinbottom found that it is arguable that that a litigant in person had complied with the strict six week time limit for appeals because…
In Blake -v- Croasdale [2017] EWHC 1336 (QB) His Honour Judge Purle QC (sitting as a Judge of the High Court) decided that an admission made by insurers was a binding admission. However he granted permission to resile from that…
There are three volumes in Kerry Underwood’s guide to “Kerry on Personal Injury Small Claims Portals and Fixed costs”. Each has Kerry’s photo on the front. Should that put you off? As ever I have a “quick” review and a…
The transcript of the judgment in the Wiseman -v- Marston case is now available. I have included it as an attachment to the previous posts on the case. The links are also available here. THE JUDGMENT AND COURT OF APPEAL…
When should a party agree an extension of time? In Emmanuel -v- The Commissioners for Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs [2017] EWHC 1253 (Ch) Her Honour Judge Karen Walden Smith made some telling observations . “… in my judgment the…
The Law Society put forward a budget of £637,000* to defend the action in Socrates Training Limited -v- The Law Society of England and Wales [2017] CAT 10. The Law Society, however suffered from a basic failure to prove one…
I attended the session on court fees. One part of this related to the increasing importance of court fee remissions. Claimants have to know the rules and, before they pay any fee, be certain that their client is eligible. Sometimes…
I wrote about the judgment in Stewart & Chergui -v- The Commissioner of Police for the Metropolis [2017] EWHC 921 (QB), yesterday. There is no harm in repeating one element of that post in this series. I am repeating it because…
In December last year I reported on the decision in Wiseman -v- Marston’s PLC (Sheffield County Court 21st December 2016). His Honour Judge Robinson allowed the claimant’s appeal in a case relating to payment of court fees. The defendant applied for…
It is uncertain how much a three week jury trial in the High Court will cost. It is certain that it costs a great deal more than the awards of £5,400 and £5,700 Mrs Justice McGowan awarded to the claimants…
In Redbourn Group Ltd -v- Fairgate Development Limited [2017] EWHC 1223 (TCC) Mr Justice Coulson refused to set aside a default judgment. The case contains some important discussion on how the Denton principles apply to applications to set aside judgment. “……
In Capita PLC -v- Darch [2017] EWHC 1248 (Ch) Richard Spearman QC highlighted some of the procedural issues that can arise when applications are served late and with insufficient time estimates. A failure to serve promptly did not, ultimately,…
In the course of a very detailed judgment today in a clinical negligence case Mr Justice Langstaff made some important observations about expert evidence. He observed that late evidence may lead to costs consequences. Given that the whole rationale of…
In Sir Cliff Richard OBE -v- The British Broadcasting Corporation [2017] EWHC 1291 (Ch) Mr Justice Mann considered an issue of whether the BBC should answer Part 18 questions. It is unusual for one Part 18 question to be the…
I was lecturing yesterday alongside an oncologist. He has a difficult job. On a regular (sometimes daily) basis he has to tell patients whether they can be treated, how long they “have left” and whether treatment is worthwhile. This left…
This blog has followed the cases that arose out of decisions to switch from public funding to legal aid. In Hyde -v- Milton Keynes NHS Foundation Trust [2017] EWCA Civ 399 the Court of Appeal has given a judgment that…
I reviewed David Boyle’s book on expert evidence earlier in the year. He has presumably decided to forego all forms of social interaction and has now written a general introduction to Personal Injury. The book places some emphasis on the…
The judgment in Accident Exchange Limited -v- Broom [2017] EWHC 1096 (Admin) shows a deliberate, and concerted, effort to undermine the civil justice process. It also shows the importance of obtaining computer records, and internal documentation when preparing a trial….
In the judgment today Gore -v- Naheed [2017] EWCA 369 the Court of Appeal considered the issue of damages being awarded (when they had not been claimed) and where costs should lie when a party – reasonably – declined to…
In Williers -v Joyce [2017] EWHC 1225 (Ch) Chief Master Marsh issued a number of warnings in relation to procedural issues. Amendment, conduct, pleadings, disclosure and witness statements are considered. (The judgment also contains a full copy of the re-amended…
The RBS Rights Issue Litigation is clearly a major and unusual case. However costs have to be reasonable and proportionate even (and perhaps especially) in this type of litigation. This is made clear in the judgment of Mr Justice Hildyard…
NB THIS DECISION WAS OVERTURNED BY THE SUPREME COURT IN Cameron v Liverpool Victoria Insurance Co Ltd [2019] UKSC 6 t In Cameron -v- Hussain [2017] EWCA Civ 366 the Court of Appeal (by a majority) considered the question whether a claimant…
The judgment of Mr Justice Jay in Enniful -v- Motor Insurers Bureau [2017] EWHC 1086 (QB) is a procedural hotchpotch. It relates to service, delay, dates of compliance, venue for appeals and relief from sanctions. All of this occurred before…
This may have been a strange venue to be talking about intellectual property rights and civil procedure. However it arose because Mr Justice Birss was on the panel and he has a background in intellectual property law. HOW CHANGES TO…




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