Case management and costs budgeting remain one of the Jackson innovations we are still getting used to. There are several useful guides that assist, plus one company offers a free service providing the bundle for the Case Management Conference. This…
The problems of serving by e-mail have been discussed several times on this blog. The need for the recipient to “opt in” to receipt coupled with potential problems in proving service can give rise to difficulties. I know from e-mails…
I am giving a webinar for CLT on the 4th March. Booking details can be found here “Limitation and PI Claims: 10 Myths that Every Practitioner Should Know” This webinar identifies and debunks 10 of the most common myths and…
The Civil Procedure (Amendment) Rules were passed yesterday. There is a whole mass of detail. NEW “STAKEHOLDER” PROVISIONS One interesting aspect is the introduction of a new CPR Part 86 new “Stakeholder” provisions. These replace the old High Court…
I put up a number of posts and articles in the recent articles and posts section of the blog most days. I will, occasionally, draw attention to a particular post. Today I have to draw attention to the article in…
Following the blog posts about troubles with the court about issue and secret letters which appear to govern how proceedings can be issued came the following comment from Dominic Cooper of I E Legal. “It surprises me that any of…
I set out the result of this case in some detail in an earlier post. At that time the transcript of the case (which relates to compliance with peremptory orders) was not available. The transcript is now available on…
Cases relating to relief from sanctions are being reported on a daily basis. Here we look at the decision yesterday of Mr Justice Smith in Associated Electrical Industries Ltd –v- Alstom Ltd [2014] EWCA Civ 4330 (Com). A case where…
Yesterday I wrote of problems when the court was refusing to issue proceedings alleging (wrongly) that they were statute barred. It is becoming frightening that important issues of law are being made (or purportedly made) by administrators. This led to…
Hot on the heels of the complaint about the court wrongfully striking out an action came another, remarkable story about the court refusing to issue proceedings because of alleged limitation issues. THE REMARKABLE STORY Here it is in its original…
I set out the main part of the judgment of Leggatt J in Summit Navigation Ltd –v- Generali Romani [2014] EWHC (Comm) yesterday. Here I look at the salient parts of the judgment and highlight the very real dilemma that…
Some of the (repeatable) epithets used to describe the consequence of the Mitchell judgment are “mayhem” “madness” and “mess”. In Summit Navigation Ltd-v- Generalia Romonia [2014] EWHC 398 (Comm) Mr Justice Legatt was critical of a party who took a…
The case of Chartwell Estate Agents –v- Fergies Properties Ltd (QBD Globe J 18/02/2014) is reported in brief on Lawtel this morning. It is an example of the court granting relief from sanctions following late service of witness statements. This…
There are real dangers in leaving service of the claim form until the last moment. The Lincolnshire case considered here exemplifies the problems. . The judge pulled no punches in relation to the risks being run by those who…
I am grateful to Simon Baskind from Cohen Cramer solicitors in Leeds for the following account of a “Mitchell” problem. ACTION STRUCK OUT BY THE COURT FOR NO GOOD REASON “I know we are all probably suffering from Mitchell overload…
Cases on the Mitchell principles are reported almost on a daily basis. It is difficult to keep track. Here I recap on the key points of surviving Mitchell. I am sure there are many more to come. Here are 10…
COOKE -v- VENULUM PROPERTY INVESTMENTS LTD [2013] EWHC 4288 Freezing orders are part of the “nuclear weapons” of civil litigation. As such they should be approached with extreme care. This case illustrates the dangers involved when a party seeks a…
It is unusual to see the Court of Appeal granting relief from sanctions without reference to CPR 3.9 or the decision in Mitchell. That is precisely what happened in Nelson –v- Circle Thirty Three Housing Trust Ltd [2014] EWCA Civ…
I decided from the outset that this blog will be a medium for information rather than opinion.However Rachel Rothwell asked me to write an article for the Association of Personal Injury Lawyers Personal Injury Focus. She wanted my opinions. The…
WAHID AND SHADKAM –V- SKANSKA UK PLC AND RIVERSTONE INSURANCE [2014] EWHC 251 (QB) (Mrs Justice Slade DBE). (This case has not yet been reported on Bailli and I will deal with the facts in some detail). THE FACTS This…
In the furore that now surrounds civil procedure it is often forgotten that the rules of civil procedure are a means to an end. That end being that there IS a fair trial on the disputed issues between the parties,….
The problems surrounding agreements to extend time remain a constant headache for litigators ever since the decision in Lloyd stated that it was not open to the parties to agree to extend time by consent. Here we look at the…
This decision by Hamblen J and reported at [2014] EWHC 275 was dealt with briefly last week. Here we take a detailed look at the case which involves several issues, including: Time for compliance with an order. The meaning of…
The Lord Chief Justice has issued a Practice Direction on access to Audio Recordings of Proceedings. CONTENTS The Practice Direction clarifies the position in relation to the obtaining of, and listening to, recordings of proceedings. It makes clear that there…
Relief from sanctions was granted by Hamblen J in the case of Lakatamia Shipping -v- Nobu Su [2014] EWHC 275 (Comm). A full blog post on the case will will follow. For the time being I will note his conclusion….
I have already commented on the highly technical points being taken as a result of the Mitchell decision. In Devon County Council -v- Celtic Bioenergy Ltd [2014] EWHC 309 (TCCStuart-Smith J considered the effect of a schedule of costs being…
The case of Newland –v- Toba Trading involves some complex facts. However it is important that it is reviewed n detail because there are important observations on civil procedure. In particular whether a party should apply for a review or…
It has to be recognised that the decision in Mitchell means, inevitably, that parties will take issue with minor breaches. Indeed it may be negligent for them not do so. In The Governor and Company of the Bank of Ireland…
The Mitchell criteria were considered by Mr Justice Blair in S.E.T. Select Engineering GMBH –v- F&M Bunkering Ltd [2014] EWHC 192 (Comm). There are some interesting observations about whether relief from sanctions applies when an application to dispute jurisdiction is…
I have heard a lot comments on the impact of the Jackson Reforms, (some of it unprintable). The Civil Justice Council is holding a conference in March on the impact of the reforms and is inviting “position papers”. I would…
JONES –V- WEALTH MANAGEMENT (UK) LTD (2014) Ch D (Arnold J) 12/02/2014 This case is reported briefly on Lawtel today. It concerns an application for relief from sanctions in insolvency proceedings. The relief from sanctions application was made prior to…
A recent post looked at potential problems with serving documents by e-mail. That this is a very real issue is shown by a report of a decision sent to me by counsel. The full details of the case are withheld. …
It appears that the proposed change to allow the parties to vary orders by consent only applies to clinical negligence cases. Lexis Law Dispute Resolution report The Judicial Office has released this statement: “A draft amendment to the clinical negligence…
An earlier post about the problems of serving documents by e-mail led to a flurry of comments on twitter about similar issues in relation to filing documents at court . I am awaiting some reports of cases where the lodging…
ANDREW WILKEY –V- BRITISH BROADCASTING CORPORATION [2002] EWCA Civ 1561 Wilkey was a case in which the Court of Appeal considered the practical impact of the decision in Godwin v Swindon Borough Council [2002] 1 WLR 997 and Anderton v…
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…
