The problem of parties not being able to agree extensions of time has been present since the decision in Lloyd. However Kerry Underwood reports on a new addition to draft orders set out by Master Cook today. THE DRAFT WORDING…
CHAMBERS –V- BUCKINGHAMSHIRE HEALTHCARE NHS TRUST [2013] EWHC (QB) (Master Cook ) (18/12/13) Chambers -v- Buckinghamshire Healthcare NHS Trust-1 This case highlights the fact that defendants are far from immune from the problems caused by Mitchell. THE FACTS Chambers was…
There is an important decision of Master Cook in the case of Chambers -v-Buckingham Healthcare NHS Trust available at dropbox The case highlights the fact that defendants too can fall foul of the problems caused by Mitchell. I will prepare…
The Civil Procedure Rules allow service of documents by e-mail. However I was involved in a case today which demonstrated that relying on e-mail service can be problematic and led to the sender requiring relief from sanctions. THE RULES CPR…
Arguments about the form of compliance are likely to become as commonplace as about the time of compliance. These arguments were considered by Master Kay Q.C. Important observations are made about the appropriate form for costs budgets when one or…
The Mitchell case was about a failure to file a costs budget in time. In Burt -v- Linford Christie the court refused relief from sanctions where the defendant filed to file the costs budget in time. The application was considered…
The decision in Lloyd that it was not open to the parties to agree to extend time can cause a problem in relation to cases where service of documents has taken place late by agreement. This was a common occurrence…
As previous posts have shown the Mitchell criteria are being considered in wider contexts. In R&CC –v- McCarthy & Stone (Developments) Limited the Upper Tribunal (Finance and Tax) applied it to the government’s application to appeal a decision out of…
It is clear that the Mitchell principles are being applied widely. In The Queen on the Application of Royal Free London NHS Foundation Trust, Mr Justice Coulson considered the principles in the context of a late application in judicial review…
The decision of Mr Justice Teare in Mount Eden Land Ltd –v- Speechly Bircham [2014] EWHC 169 (QB) is a case of the courts ending a detailed and lengthy costs assessment because of the behaviour of the claimant. It has wider…
I have written before about written advocacy and given examples of robust approaches from American judges. There is a site devoted to good legal writing. It gives an example of a judge who pulls no punches. A SECRET PACT TO…
The penalties for failing to file Precedent H in time are draconian. What happens if the parties do not file Precedent H because they are misled by the court directions? In Aliasghas Porbanderwalla –v- Daybridge Ltd HH Judge Worster allowed an…
There is now a lot of evidence of parties taking “opportunistic” points in relation to procedure. That is pointing to historic breaches, often months before a hearing/application, and arguing that these breaches mean that the case/defence should be struck out…
The CLT Webinar I did last week on 30 points of avoiding problems after Mitchell is now available on demand from CLT. Not only is this an economic way to get you training done it is a whole lot cheaper than…
The case of Rehill –v- Rider Holdings [2014] EWCA Civ 42 offers quite a few lessons for litigators and litigants. In relation to offers and filing schedules of costs and the risks of litigation for litigants and lawyers. REHILL –v- RIDER…
Prior to the Mitchell decision the easiest way for a claimant to come to grief on a procedural issue was to make a mistake with service of the claim form. The decision Murrills –v- Berlanda [2014] EWCA Civ 6 shows…
I am grateful to Dave Toulson of Hill Dickinson for a more detailed explanation of the news that prompted the article on drafting witness statements and proving damages. The original tweet was that a claim for hire had been struck…
There has yet to be a definitive review of the principles relating to pleadings under the Civil Procedure Rules. Here we look at some recent cases where the Court of Appeal has considered the importance of pleadings. Skrzynski –v- Metropolitan…
The Association of Personal Injury Lawyers is monitoring both costs budget and relief from sanctions. It has asked for information from members on these issues. If you are not a member (you could always join) APIL may still welcome input…
The next in the series was going to be a review of the rules and principles relating to pre-action conduct. However Kerry Underwood has written a post that deals with this issue comprehensively and I have nothing to add. Here we look…
The question of whether the parties can agree to extend time for compliance with a court order is an open one at the moment. See the discussion in the earlier posts on this issue. There was a short tweet earlier…
As mentioned in my earlier post Cost Management Hearings and Form H some courts (and I do not know whether this is a national or local practice) direct that the claimant file a schedule/summary showing the parties’ individual claims on…
Costs Management hearings are still relatively novel. A previous post set out links to posts and articles that provide some guidance. Here are a few practical tips and a useful Schedule to highlight the differences. YOU CAN’T HAVE THINGS TWICE:…
The previous post dealt with the importance of witness statements in proving heads of loss. An example was given of a failure to prove loss of earnings through inadequate evidence. LOSS OF EARNINGS ON MY OTHER BLOG I maintain…
The genesis of this article is a tweet earlier today where a solicitor reported that a claim for the cost of hire and storage had been struck out because the witness statement was deficient. “C entire hire, storage & recovery…
The unforgiving nature of the Mitchell decision means that litigators have to be certain that they will be able to comply with any directions that the court orders. In effect this means that a claimant has to be ready for…
The earlier post on extensions of time gained a lot of attention and numerous issues were raised at twitter. This is such a fast moving area that a case, reported yesterday, deals with some of the issues raised. I wanted…
I received an e-mail today from Kerry Kirkbride of Active Legal Ltd in Birmingham. It follows an earlier post in relation to the need to lodge the trial bundle at time. I have permission from Kerry to re-print it in…
There were two High Court cases on relief from sanctions considered today. Both were decisions of Mr Justice Turner Here we consider Webb Resolutions –v- E-Surv Limited [2014] EWHC 49 (QB)and M A Lloyd –v- PPC International Ltd [2014] EWHC…
There are two further High Court decisions where relief from sanctions was refused. Webb Resolutions -v- E Surv [2014] EWHC 49 (QB) MA Lloyd & Sons -v- PPC International [2014] EWHC 41 (QB) These are links to the decisions. A full discussion…
One issue that has arisen consistently since the Mitchell decision in particular is whether the parties can agree to vary directions. The answer is far from simple. THE RULES The rules are always a good place to start. CPR 2.11…
With relief from sanctions being notoriously hard to obtain the question of whether a party has complied with an order, particularly an unless order, is now of critical importance. In Dinsdale Moorland Services Ltd –v- Evans 2014] EWHC 2 (Ch)…
THIS POST CONTAINS THE DECISIONS RELATING TO MITCHELL AND THE CASES THAT FOLLOWED IMMEDIATELY AFTERWARDS. LATER LINKS CAN BE FOUND AT DISCUSSIONS OF MITCHELL AT http://civillitigationbrief.wordpress.com/2013/11/27/mitchell-links-to-articles-and-posts/ WHAT IS ON THIS POST 1. Zenith Chambers. 2. Indi… Enjoying this post? Become a Civil…
In the case heard today of Thevarajah –v- Riordan [2014] EWCA Civ 15the Court of Appeal reiterated the rigorous nature of the Mitchell test. Here we look at that decision in detail and the trenchant observations made by the Court….
The case of Mitchell featured in the decision of Mr Justice Turner in Biljani -v- Unum Ltd[2014] EWHC 27 (QB) . An application for the matter to be listed in front of a High Court judge was refused, part of the…
There is a decision by Master Rowley in the case of Long -v- Value Properties Ltd 13/1/14 available on dropbox at https://www.dropbox.com/s/h8keoeme94gvrzp/Long%20v%20%20Value%20Properties%20%26%20Anor.pdf THE APPLICATION FOR RELIEF FROM SANCTIONS This was an application for relief from sanctions ar… Enjoying this post? Become…
Hot on the heels of the discussion of witness statements and the statement of truth yesterday is an article by RPC solicitors about the importance of the statement of truth and pleadings. In particular there is a useful summary of…
Earlier posts on witness statements have dealt with the manner of drafting and presentation. However one overlooked aspect is the way that witnesses are questioned. The questions asked, and the way questions are asked, will determine the evidence that goes…
Mitchell, in terms of the importance of case management, was mentioned in the High Court case of Vaughan –v-London Borough of Lewisham. The facts were unusual, but the reference to case management powers and the importance of the economy and…
The earlier post on trial bundles received several comments. It is clearly a matter of interest, and some controversy. Legal Orange has written a post on Trial Bundles from the point of view of a litigator. LEGAL ORANGE The post…
Video conferencing is a useful took and can save costs enormously. Particularly if it prevents a witness from having to travel from abroad. In Haider -v- Syed[2013] EWHC 4079 (Ch) Barling J expressed concern that the appropriate procedure was not…
The earlier post on witness statements had a large number of hits. That post set out the basic techniques when drafting witness statements. However it just as important is that you ensure that the statements you draft comply with the…
One obvious concern about the Mitchell fallout is the position of Indemnity insurers. This is reflected in a piece by Hill Dickinson. The observations need to be noted. HILL DICKINSON’S POST There is a succinct summary of the decisions in…
The earlier post on written advocacy has led me to a blog written by an American Judge. The blog “Hercules and the Empire” is written by Federal Judge Richard Kopf and has proven to be popular in America (425,000 page…
The skeleton arguments and Notices of Appeal in a case are rarely seen. David Price Solicitors have put their Skeleton and Notice of Appeal on line in a case. THE CASE The case is a defamation case where the solicitors…
The skill and effort involved in drafting a proper and appropriate witness statement are often overlooked. Mistakes are often made. Witness statements are either to cursory and brief; too opinionated and argumentative or over-elaborate and lacking credibility. Curiously enough most…
Form H (Precedent H) is now a central part of the litigation process. It was the delay in lodging the Form H that led to sanctions being imposed in the Mitchell case. Many people are facing completion of the form…
Should a successful party have an award of interest on costs paid to their solicitors. In the case of Schuman -v- Veale Wasborough [2013] EWHC 4070 (QB) Dingemans J considered an application by successful defendants that they be awarded interest on their…
There was an interesting debate on twitter on Friday evening about whether Mitchell was being cited too widely. It was reported that, in some cases district judges had rejected the argument that when parties were applying for extension of time…
Searches for “abuse of process and section action” formed more than half of the search terms that brought people to this blog earlier in the week. It is clear that this is going to be a major subject of litigation…
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