Is an expert needed to construe a contractual agreement. Here we have a case where the Master was very much against the applicant who sought permission to rely on an expert. An expert was not needed to report on market…
Parties alleging dishonesty and fraud have to be very careful in the way they plead their case. These matters cannot be pleaded lightly, and there are professional obligations on the pleader to ensure that there is reasonably credible material that…
It is rare for this blog to look at Employment Tribunal decisions. However examining the drafting of witness statements is part of its everyday fare. Here we look at a decision where the Tribunal was certain that witness statements had…
Today we are looking at a case where the judge had considerable reservations about expert evidence called on behalf of a claimant. Not all the problems that occurred were the fault of the expert. However she was the third expert…
Here we are looking at another aspect of the case we looked at yesterday. Most of the attention in that case relates to the fake cases that the claimant relied upon. However there was criticism of the defendant too. The…
There are countless posts about witness statements on this blog. Most of them reflect judicial commentary that is far from favourable in relation to the way that the statements have been drafted. We see considerable criticism in this case where…
Why spend £13,000 to recover a remedy that will only be worth £1,500? That is the issue considered by Deputy District Judge Hodgson [Professor David Hodson OBE KC (Hons)]. An application was made late. The gain to the applicant was…
This blog celebrates its 12th anniversary next month. Civil Litigation Brief started as a column in the Solicitors Journal 35 years ago. Over that time many people have helpfully sent me and pointed me me to cases of interest. In…
There are many ways in which a court can approach a claim for loss of earnings. There are as many ways in which a claim for loss of earnings can go wrong. In recent weeks I have written about cases…
The case we are looking at today involves the consequences, for the solicitors, of failing to serve a claim form. In an earlier case extensions of time for service of a claim form were set aside. The client instructed new…
If a claimant serves a “amended” claim form that has not been resealed does that amount to good service? That issue was considered in the case we are considering today. The result is of considerable practical significance. However it pays…
How far should leading counsel, or counsel generally, be involved in the preparation of expert reports and witness statements? One obvious reply is “not at all”, given that the evidence should come from the expert or witness. These issues were…
Can the court ever set a costs budget retrospectively? In this case the judge held that it could, further there were good reasons for doing so in this case. “I do not accept that the Court is unable to…
The principle that insurance payments are sometimes deducted from a claim for personal injury damages is overlooked. Here we are looking at two recent cases where this principle was considered and applied. In one case, at least, the principle does not…
Most clients will want to know how much legal work is going to cost them. Most lawyers provide an estimate. The question in this case is how significant is that original estimate in a subsequent solicitor and own client assessment? …
Normally only a defendant can apply for security for costs. In this case the claimant applied for security for costs when a third party made an application. The question for the court was – in these circumstances can the applicant…
We are looking at a case where the entire case was struck out on various grounds. The claimant did not attend the hearing to dispute the issues. However I have isolated one ground of the judgment which relates to a…
Today has been a day for sending out useful links. Here we have a useful link for all those who are involved in inquests. A link to the Chief Coroner’s Guidance for Coroners on the Bench which was revised earlier…
There is a new edition of the King’s Bench Guide. There are some additions and changes. In particular the Guide notes the difference between an application for an anonymity order made at an approval hearing and one that is not….
The RICS has produced a Practice Alert aimed specifically at those acting as expert witnesses in housing disrepair and other high volume cases. It some ways the Alert is surprising in that it says nothing new, that is most of…
It is difficult to believe that cases about lawyers accidently breaching a judgment embargo still happen. However the reports keep coming. Prominent firms of solicitors, and barristers’ chambers have, over the years fallen foul of the rules. In particular a…
It is an easy matter for a claimant to insert a claim for a substantial loss of earnings into a schedule of damages. However a claimant then has to prove that loss. Further, even prior to trial, a defendant is…
A central aim of this series is to look at what actually happens when costs are assessed. We see an example in the case we are looking at here. It was the claimant’s application for a Solicitors Act assessment of bills…
Much of the task of the claimant lawyer concentrates on the task of building up the claim for damages to ensure proper compensation. However it is essential that the lawyer if fully aware of the arguments, case law and principles…
In Rebekah Vardy v Coleen Rooney [2025] EWHC 1027 (KB) Mr Justice Cavanagh made some further costs rulings following the dismissal of the defendant’s appeal on issues relating to costs. Firstly he rejected the defendant’s arguments that the claimant’s costs should be…
In Ahmad v Comptroller-General of Patents, Designs and Trade Marks [2025] EWHC 936 (Pat) Mr Justice Mellor granted the defendant an extension of one day to file a defence, this had the effect of making the defendant’s applications to strike…
We are looking again at the judgment in Michele Carrington v American International Group UK Limited [2025] EWHC 1010 (TCC). This time in relation to the issue of relief from sanctions. The claimant had failed to comply with a peremptory order to…
A solicitor who wishes to deduct “solicitor and own client” costs in a case involving a minor or protected party requires approval by the Court. Here we have a case where the claimant’s solicitors argued, robustly, that the current process…
Here we are looking at an application that was all about the claimant’s inadequate pleadings. After putting the defects right (at at third attempt) the case was allowed to proceed – but it was a lengthy and expensive process for…
In Julie Johnson v Choice Support [2025] EWHC 1020 (SCCO) Deputy Costs Judge Erwin-Jones decided that the claimant’s initial valuation of a case made it reasonable to start it outside the Pre-Action Valuation Protocol for Low Value Claims. There is also an…
As recent events have shown the consequences of proper training, supervision and knowledge of those responsible for running outdoor activities lead to major injuries and fatalities. This webinar considers the key issues and cases on the topic. Booking details are…
Today we are looking at a case where the court considered the impact of The Third Party (Rights against Insurers) Act 2010 in detail. The court decided that the insurer was not liable to indemnify a claimant who had been…
There are numerous cases on this blog where solicitor defendants have encountered major problems, and often come to grief, when faced with applications by clients for solicitor and own client assessments. The judgment of Costs Judge Whalan in Mehta v…
The calculation of a “success fee” in a personal injury action is a subject that has been the subject of several cases over the years. The issues were considered by District Judge Lumb in SJ (a minor suing by his mother…
In Doroudvash v Zurich Insurance PLC [2025] EWCC 10 HHJ Holmes identified a route whereby the claimant in a personal injury case could join an additional defendant into an action after the expiry of the initial limitation period. This construction…
DRAFTING SCHEDULES OF DAMAGES: EFFECTIVE DRAFTING AND AVOIDING THE PITFALLS: WEBINAR 29th APRIL 2025
Over the past few months we have looked at cases where claimants have claimed damages for working 24.4 hours a day, where the contents of a a schedule were found to amount to fundamental dishonesty and where a schedule was…
The judgment of Mr Justice Dexter Dias in Kumar v The General Medical Council (Rev1) [2025] EWHC 820 (Admin) contains an important lesson for all litigants. An appellant left filing a notice of appeal until two minutes before the expiry…
The judgment of HHJ Hassall in Mr Martyn Ian Haynes v Total Plant Hire Limited is available as a link on an article in the Law Society Gazette, available here. The case involves a detailed consideration of the Denton criteria. In particular some of the arguments on…
In Franklin v Your Lawyers Ltd [2025] EWHC 984 (SCCO) Acting Senior Costs Judge Rowley dismissed a defendant solicitor’s argument that it should recover its costs after its former client had issued proceedings seeking the delivery of a statute bill. …
Another example of the importance of all issues being properly pleaded can be found in the judgment of Mr Justice Edwin Johnson in Dunya Dervis v Kenan Deniz [2025] EWHC 902 (Ch). The appellant was not allowed, on appeal, to pursue…
If ever there was a case that emphasised the importance of bundles being checked prior to a hearing we see it here. In RP v Barnsley Metropolitan District Council [2025] UKUT 46 (AAC) Upper Tribunal Judge Edward Jacobs found that…
The judgment of HHJ Karen Walden-Smith in Khan & Anor v Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government & Anor [2025] EWHC 969 (Admin) is the second example this week of the court considering the Denton principles when…
Practitioners can learn a lot from looking at judgments on claims for loss of earnings. These provide a practical grounding of how the courts approach such claims and, in particular, how judges consider the evidence (or absence of evidence) in…
The judgment in Moodliar v General Medical Council [2025] EWHC 913 (Admin) provides a salutary reminder to medical experts that giving expert evidence is a highly significant task. Failures in the process can lead to erasure from the medical register,…
In Yaxley-Lennon v HM Solicitor General [2025] EWCA Civ 476 the Court of Appeal considered the Denton principles in the context of extending time for permission to appeal. The case emphasises that the absence of a good reason for default…
I am grateful to David Platt KC for drawing my attention to the Court of Appeal decision in Alexander Johnstone v Fawcett’s Garage (Newbury) Limited [2025] EWCA Civ 467, in particular to the judgment in relation to adverse inferences. The Court of…
I am grateful to James Packer of Duncan Lewis for sending me a copy of the judgment of Mrs Justice Hill in Mlundira -v- The Secretary of State for the Home Department [2025] EWHC 189 (KB), a copy of which…
In Sarah Jane Young v John Anthony Downey [2025] EWCA Civ 177 the Court of Appeal sent out another reminder that there are difficulties in trial judges attempting to override the views of expert witnesses. “… in the circumstances…
I am giving a webinar for the Steve Cornforth Consultance on the 14th May 2025. It is aimed at housing lawyers and aims to have a comprehensive look at the rules, guidance and cases on the use of experts in…
Legal Futures carries a report of a paralegal banned from the profession because she tried to cover up a mistake by lying to the court. This gives me a reason to reiterate points made regularly on this blog about what…
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