In R (Abbas Mohammadi -v- Secretary of State for the Home Department [2014] EWHC 2251 (Admin)the court did not decide the issue of whether “Mitchell” principles applied to applications for judicial review. THE FACTS The applicant was seeking judicial review of…
Anyone want to see a description of a civil procedure system running smoothly then read Master McCloud’s description of the “asbestos disease court” in her judgment in Yates -v- Commissioners for Her Majesty’s Revenue & Customs [2014] EWCH 2311 (QB)….
The recent post on Caldero Trading -v- Leibson [2014] EWCA Civ 935 included the Court of Appeal’s criticism of the voluminous bundles prepared in that case. The trial bundle is often neglected as a tool for advocacy. THIS DOES MEAN THAT A…
A post yesterday considered the possibility of appealing, out of time, the unjust orders that may have been made following Mitchell and the subsequent “clarification” in Denton. There is some law on this topic, ironically it is a result of…
In Denton -v- White [2014] EWCA Civ 906. the Court of Appeal stated that we think that the judgment in Mitchell has been misunderstood and is being misapplied by some courts. It is clear that it needs to be clarified and amplified in…
The decision of Mr Justice Bean in Dil -v- Commissioner of Police for the Metropolis [2014] EWHC 2184 (QB) relates to a police force’s obligations in relation to the disclosure of details of undercover operations and informers. However it also deals…
The post yesterday on the length of “skeleton” arguments and trial bundles was an appeal from a first instance decision where the judge had to decide which witnesses were credible. First instance decisions on the credibility of witnesses are difficult…
This is not the first time CLB has commented on judicial complaints about over-long skeletons and poorly thought out bundles. These points are made again by the Court of Appeal in Caldero Trading -v- Leibson [2014] EWCA Civ 935. The…
I have written before about the “litigator’s dilemma” in relation to whether a point should be taken in relation to a breach, or an application for relief of sanctions opposed. The Denton decision makes this issue far more difficult for…
There are four articles on relief from sanctions Post-Denton. 1. Death of the word “trivial”. 2. The reason may not be good enough but this does not prevent relief from sanctions being granted. 3. The “Third Stage”: Everything is in…
In the fourth in the series of articles we look at the very heavy incentive the Court of Appeal imposed upon litigants (and litigators) not to object to applications for relief from sanctions in “all but the most serious cases”….
Having considered whether the breach is serious or significant and the reason for the breach a judge hearing a relief from sanctions application may have to go on to the “third stage”. Here the court considers all aspects of the…
The first stage of an application for relief from sanctions has been considered in an earlier post. If the breach is neither serious or significant then the court need not spend too much time on the second and third stages….
There are now plenty of places that summarise and give views on the effect of the Court of Appeal decision in Denton -v- White. Here I want to start on the task of looking, in some detail, at the practical…
The 70 key points of the Court of Appeal judgment in Denton -v- White [2014] EWCA Civ 906. “We hope that what follows will avoid the need in future to resort to the earlier authorities.” (Paragraph 24). CRITICISM OF MITCHELL 1. The…
These are links to commentary and comment on the Court of Appeal decision in Denton -v- White [2014] EWCA Civ 906. 1. The Law Society Gazette reviews the decision (and also allows you to see the judgment being given).(Also a…
The claimant served their costs budget 45 minutes late. Both the District Judge and Circuit Judge refused relief from sanctions. The Court of Appeal overturned this decision. THE FACTS The claimant’s cost budget was served at 4.45 and not 4.00….
The second substantive decision was Decadent Vapours. Here the Court of Appeal overturned a refusal to grant relief from sanctions and the claimant’s case was allowed to proceed. THE FACTS The claimant failed to make payments of fees by the…
The previous posts looked at the general principles the Court of Appeal considered. Here we look at the practical results in the three cases. DENTON: Denton was a case about an allegedly defective milking parlour. The trial was set to…
The Court of Appeal went on to state that a major misunderstanding had occurred in relation to sanctions applications. There was a third stage which the Court explained at length. THE THIRD STAGE “31. The important misunderstanding that has occurred…
The history and arguments in relation to the Court of Appeal hearings on sanctions have been fully recorded on this blog. In the judgment given today there are a number of Key points. MITCHELL HAS BEEN THE SUBJECT OF CRITICISM…
The Court of Appeal have allowed all three appeals in the sanctions cases that were before them. This is breaking news (as I write the judgment is still being given). In Decadent Vapours the action had been struck out…
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. …
“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…
Judgment in the three recent cases where the Court of Appeal reviewed the application of the Mitchell criteria is to be given in in Court 71 in the Royal Courts of Justice on Friday 4th July at 2pm. TO SEE THE ARGUMENTS…
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…
There are now nearly 400 posts on this blog and some patterns are emerging. Some posts are read in the immediate aftermath of posting, some keep on being read. Posts about Precedent H are part of those keep on being…
Part 36 offers are relatively easy to withdraw. This is demonstrated by the decision of Flaux J in of Supergroup Plc v JustEnough Software Corp Inc where he rejected an application for a declaration that the the claimant had validly…
The recent Leeds Law Society Civil Litigation event reminded me of a similar meeting with judges over 25 years ago. The Registrars (District Judges) gave a talk to local articled clerks (trainee solicitors). There was a basic message delivered in…
In the case of Akhtar -v- Boland [2014] EWCA Civ 872 the Court of Appeal gave guidance on CPR 26 and the matters to be considered when a determination is made as to allocation between the Fast Track and the…
Lawtel today reported the case of Davies -v- Liberty Place [2014] EWHC 2034 (Admin). In that case Leggatt J stated that a party who served a witness statement late was not automatically precluded from relying on that statement at trial….
Instructing expert witnesses is an important step in many actions. The advantages, and problems, caused by experts are well known. It is clear that the issues are international. A recent article in the American Journal “The Lawyerist” contains some interesting…
I am grateful to Nick Hanning for pointing out one aspect of the judgement in the recent Paratus case that he, rightly, says would benefit from wider publicity. The Court made a Pro Bono Costs order under section 194…
The case of Paratus AMC Ltd -v- Lewis [2014] EWHC 1577 (Ch) has been placed on Bailli following an order by the judge to highlight an issue of contempt of court. As such it clearly requires wider publication. It also…
Today marks the first anniversary of the setting up of this blog, tomorrow marks the anniversary of the first post. It gives an opportunity to recap (and reminisce). CIVIL PROCEDURE IN JUNE 2013 When the blog started civil procedure was…
In Grizzly Business Ltd -v- Stena Drilling Ltd [2014] EWHC 1920 (Comm) a judge had to decide between two competing versions of what was said in a telephone call three years earlier in a case when $2.5 million was at…
In Patterson -v- Spencer [2014] EWHC 1878 (Ch) Henry Carr QC (sitting as a High Court Judge) refused an appellant’s application for relief from sanctions after she failed to file transcripts of the initial hearing. THE FACTS One of the defendants,…
The case of Swinden -v- Grima (Nicol J) 18/06/2014 is briefly reported on Lawtel (20th June). It is another example of the court refusing permission to serve witness statements late. THE FACTS The defendant served a witness statement on the…
The question of whether CPR 3.9 and the Mitchell criteria apply to applications to have judgment set aside is an issue that has been considered several times on this blog. In a decision yesterday Newland -v- Trading FZC (& other)…
In Cranford Community College -v- Cranford College Ltd (16/06/2014 IPEC Judge Hacon) the court granted relief from sanctions following late service of a witness statement. (The case was reported on Lawtel on the 18th June 2014). THE FACTS The action…
I have posted details of all the hearings on sanctions over the Monday and Tuesday this week. Here are the links in one place. Submissions in Denton -v- White Submissions in Decadent Vapours Submissions in Utilise -v- Davis The Bar…
“Is there not a more imaginative way to encourage parties to co-operate? Looking at some of the circumstances litigation had been utterly derailed due to satellite litigation. This is inappropriate in 99% of cases. We need a message saying that…
Yesterday evening Leeds Law Society held a “meet the judges” evening when practitioners met local judges and court staff to discuss issues arising out of the implementation of the Jackson reforms. Some of the issues were specific to Leeds but most…
The final tranche of the notes taking at the hearing of the sanctions cases yesterday. The case of Utilise -v- Davies. Discussion of the first instance decision can be found in this blog as can a link to the transcript….
In Warner -v- Merrett (QBD Merc 12/6/2014) Judge Mackie QC granted relief from sanctions following a failure to serve documents relating to serve documents relating to additional liabilities at the outset of a detailed costs assessment. The case was briefly…
Whilst the Court of Appeal ruminates over the problems caused by Mitchell life goes on at the procedural coalface. Attached to this post is a decision of Mr. N. Strauss Q.C. sitting as a Deputy High Court Judge on the…
The Bar Council and the Law Society were invited to make submissions at the sanctions hearings in the Court of Appeal today. The discussions between the Bar and the Bench make fascinating reading. (Mr Holland QC for both the Bar…
DECADENT VAPOURS LIMITED V BEVAN Heard by the Court of Appeal on 16th June 2014 (Lord Justice Dyson MR) (Lord Justice Jackson) (Lord Justice Vos) APPELLANT/CLAIMANT’S SUBMISSION In the present case the appellant appeals a decision to refuse relief from…
The Court of Appeal hearing on sanctions after Mitchell goes on. Here I outline, in detail, the submissions and discussions in Denton. Other cases will follow. DENTON AND OTHERS V T H WHITE LIMITED Heard by the Court of…
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