We have already looked at this case at first instance, see Service Points 9, the initial decision was considered by the Court of Appeal in the case we look at here. The Court here was concerned with whether the courts…
Here we are looking at another useful link. FOIL (the Federation of Insurance Lawyers) has produced a document dealing with the potential consequences of Mazur for its members. (FOIL has always been such a clever name. This link shows that…
Here we are looking at a case where an action for negligence against a firm of solicitors failed. The trial judge found that the solicitors had good grounds to terminate their retainer. However the solicitors’ counterclaim for fees failed. There…
Here we are looking at a case involving a bill of costs that was wholly defective that the costs judge was invited to strike it out. The judge came very close, but reduced the bill by 75% instead. There…
Way back in the mists of antiquity (2017) I invited lawyers on Twitter (Now “X”) to share their views on what scares the legal profession most. The first post came from Megan Boyd (based in Atlanta, Georgia). This shows that…
We are looking here at at case where an action was struck out because of a failure to obtain permission of the court to issue proceedings. The judge rejected the claimant’s contention that the statute in question should be read…
Here we have the County Court considering an unusual issue of jurisdiction. Does it have jurisdiction to decide an action brought at common law on a foreign judgment? If it does not should the action be struck out or simply…
Here we look at a judge’s comments outside the ambit of litigation. Nevertheless it shows that the issue of professional regulation and the use of “non-authorised” employees within solicitor’s firms may well become a more important issue in the future….
The commentary on Mazur continues. Here I want to look at two useful links. The first relates to guidance given by an insurer. The second relates to the first report (I have seen) on Mazur having an impact on costs….
This is not the first time we have looked at a case where an expert in a clinical negligence has revealed in cross-examination that they do no really understand the “Bolam” test for negligence. We look at such a case…
This is a case about mistakes in litigation and the rules relating to allowing the withdrawal of a pre-action admission. The judgment was given 10 years ago, but arrived on BAILII today. The issues raised here remain highly relevant. In…
The reason why we litigators are infinitely wise is that we always deal with things in retrospect. We have the perfect vision of hindsight. Litigation is full of “why did you do that?”, “If you say that now why didn’t…
It is rare for a schedule of damages to come under close scrutiny prior to the trial itself. Here the Court of Appeal upheld a decision to strike out large parts of the appellants’ claim for damages. Many of the…
Here we are looking at a case where the issue of proceedings was left until the last day. There is nothing unusual in that on this blog. We are, however, looking at a criminal case, albeit a decision of the…
This week we are looking at a judgment that sets out in detail the process by which judges determine issues in a civil case. Ranging from the burden and standard of proof , the role of judges, the fallibility of…
The previous post recorded how it is still possible to be surprised by what goes on in litigation. We see that again here, but to a greater extent. After a trial and a judgment was given an expert wrote to…
No matter how long, and how much, you write about civil procedure cases can still come along which surprise – if not astonish. We have such a case here. The judge found that, essentially, it was the client who played…
We are looking at a case where the Court of Appeal considered a wasted costs order in critical terms. Although we are considering a decision in the criminal courts the principles relating to wasted costs are of general application. Firstly…
There are two pieces of news. Firstly the site is having a short “rest” on the 29th October, this is only for an hour – but it will be back newly invigorated. Secondly a reminder of some of the webinars…
This may be the first time we have looked at the issue of costs and badgers. We are looking at a case where the defendant sought to change the amounts of the “Aarhus cap” on the recoverability of costs in…
The circumstances in which a judge at first instance can grant permission to appeal from their own decision are circumscribed by the rules. Permission can only be given at the hearing itself, or any adjournment thereof. The same applies to…
Needless to say there have been plenty of cases this year relating to service (or mis-service) of the claim form. This webinar looks at cases over the past 12 months with the primary aim of ensuring that you are not…
There are often major differences of view as to the effect of non-compliance with the rules. We have such differences here. The claimants, in default, regarded the respondents’ procedural objections as “nit-picking”. The judge, however, held that the default was…
If a skeleton argument is served late then relief from sanctions is required. The case we are looking at here makes it clear that it is prudent to make a formal application rather than assume relief will be granted “on…
We are looking again at the case in which the claimant applied for permission to withdraw their Part 36 offer. The claimant had capacity, however at the hearing it was argued that he came within the definition of “vulnerable” litigant…
There are many heated responses to the Mazur decision. There are articles suggesting that the judge got the law wrong. (Apparently the judge should not have listened to the submissions of both the Law Society and SRA which supported his…
Sometimes a respondent’s notice is really a cross-appeal attempting to disguise itself. We are looking at such a case here. The “respondent’s notice” was served late, and permission was given to serve it. However on closer examination at the appeal…
We continue with the consideration of the recent case in which a claimant applied for permission to withdraw a Part 36 offer. The judge also considered the relevant rules and case law in detail. (You need the court’s permission to…
There are few cases which involve a claimant seeking to withdraw their own Part 36 offer we have a decision today here. The claimant made an offer and attempted to withdraw is shortly afterwards. The defendant accepted the offer within…
The commentary on the implications of the Mazur case continues apace. In particular there has been much discussion about whether it affects liability to pay costs. LinkedIn contains reports that “Mazur” issues are already being raised in Points of Dispute. …
This webinar looks at how the courts are dealing with occupiers liability cases and the duty of care. It takes a practical look at they way in which cases are decided and the factors which determine whether liability is established…
The Court of Appeal has been busy recently with issues relating to service of the claim form. On the whole claimants (or rather their representatives) have not fared well. Here we look at the claimant’s argument that leaving a claim…
Here we look at a Court of Appeal decision that overturned a claim form decision that favoured the claimant. It highlights (if highlighting were ever needed) the dangers relating to service of the claim form). The one argument that can…
This series started in July 2022. I wanted to make sure that we got to look at the “smaller” issues in relation to costs as well as major decisions. Those “incidental” issues, summary assessments, judicial commentary and the like can…
It is not unusual for a receiving party to make an offer on costs before detailed assessment proceedings begin, indeed this is a normal practice. Here the court considered the question of whether serving a draft bill in negotiations that…
We are looking here at an issue relating to a defendant’s liability to pay the costs of other defendants against whom no order for costs was made. Was the “paying” defendant also liable to pay the costs that the claimant…
We are looking at an application to rely on a witness statement that was served “late”. The statement had, in fact, been served on the claimants ahead of the deadline but not served as a witness statement for trial. When…
It is not uncommon for the solicitor to sign a statement of truth on behalf of a company or corporation. This case considers the question of whether the company can be compelled to give details of the individuals who gave…
It is very unusual for issues relating to costs to reach the Supreme Court. There was such a case yesterday. The Court considered whether a paying party was liable to pay costs in sterling or the domestic currency of the…
A new edition of the Senior Court Costs Office Guide was published yesterday. Here we provide the link and have a look at one issue relating to “representation”. (“Hot off the press is a term that is difficult to apply…
Earlier this week we looked at a case where difficulties occurred because the claimant’s case was not put to a witness for the defendant. Here I want to highlight the key parts of that judgment relating to the need…
What order for costs should the court make in a “mixed” claim when part of the claim is struck out but a personal injury claim continues. That was the question considered in the appeal we are looking at here. In…
We are looking at a case that deals with two issues: (i) the practice of seeking an injunction without having first issued proceedings; (ii) the desirability of a party seeking an injunction to put a fully pleaded case before the…
Here we continue with the examination of what is meant by the “conduct litigation” by looking at the Statute and Law Society Guidance as to the meaning of “court”. This extends to some, but not all, tribunals. (Some courts are…
Here we look at a judgment about medical evidence in a personal injury action. The issue was one of causation – whether an earlier injury to the claimant’s leg “caused” a later decision to have that leg amputated. The critique…
Some of the commentary on the Mazur issues suggests that the problem occurs because of a “rogue” definition contained in a schedule to the Legal Services Act 2007. In fact there have been statutory provisions on this issue since (at least) 1729. …
This is not the first time this blog has looked at judicial criticisms of inadequate time estimates. On this occasion it was in relation to unrealistic reading time. This provides an opportunity to revisit the guidance given in relation to…
Here we look at guidance given by the SRA in November 2022. The one thing that the SRA can point to is the fact that this guidance said, in clear terms, precisely what was said in Mazur about who can…
MAZUR MATTERS 21: WHEN AN INSURER GIVES OUT DETAILED ADVICE THEN WE SHOULD ALL PAY CLOSE ATTENTION …
There is a growing amount of guidance on practical means for lawyers to deal with the Mazur decision. Links have been provided in earlier posts. However this guidance, in particular, is of some considerable significance. A major insurer has provided…
We are looking at a case where, for reasons that are unclear, the claimants failed to challenge a key part of the evidence of the defendant’s witness. That evidence was central to the claimants’ case. The claimants’ attempts to rectify…
You must be logged in to post a comment.