I am grateful to Andrew Roy KC for sending me a copy of the judgment of Costs Judge Rowley in Ruhumatally v The State of Mauritius & Anor, a copy of the judgment is available here Ruhumatally – reasons. The…
In Kostakopoulou v University of Warwick & Ors [2025] EWHC 342 (KB) Mr Justice Bourne considered issues relating to service of the defendants by email. He held that, in the absence of express consent to accept proceedings by email in…
In a webinar on limitation tomorrow I am considering, among many other issues, the government’s proposals on changes to limitation in child sexual abuse cases. In particular whether there is a practical dilemma for practitioners with actions that are pending. …
I am grateful to Elliot Gold, barrister, for sending me a copy of the decision of HHJ Bloom in Davidson -v- The London Centre of Psychodrama, a copy of which is available here DavidsonJudgment. The judge, among other…
The question of service of the claim form and “last known residence” has featured already on this blog this year. There is another case on the issue in the judgment of Mr Justice Bryan in Agrofirma Oniks LLC & Anor…
Limitation issues feature regularly on this blog and are a major reason for litigators being sued. This webinar looks at the major problem areas in limitation for personal injury and clinical negligence litigators. It identifies, and helps litigators avoid, all…
The judgment of HHJ Halliwell, sitting as a High Court Judge, in Bootle v GHL Property Management and Development Ltd & Anor [2025] EWHC 317 (Ch) provides an object lesson on the dangers of over-hasty applications for an injunction. It…
In South Bank Hotel Management Company Ltd v Galliard Hotels Ltd & Ors [2024] EWHC 3544 (Ch) Mr Justice Richards considered the arguments as whether it was “unjust” for the normal provisions of a Part 36 offer to apply. He…
In Deutsche Bank AG v Sebastian Holdings Inc & Anor [2025] EWHC 283 (Comm) Mrs Justice Cockerill found that an application had not been properly served. The applicant had served the respondent on solicitors who had acted for him in…
One of the issues considered by Mrs Justice Bacon in Vauxhall Motors Ltd & Ors v Denso Automotive UK Ltd & Ors [2025] EWHC 213 (Ch) was whether an order extending time for service of the claim form should be…
This webinar looks at common mistakes in personal injury litigation and recent cases where things have gone wrong. It then looks at how mistakes can be rectified and how to make an application for relief from sanctions. Booking details are…
We are returning to the judgment of Mr Justice Constable in GS Woodland Court GP 1 Ltd & Anor v RGCM Ltd & Ors [2025] EWHC 285 (TCC), looked in the previous post. Because of the nature of the budget that the…
This is the first of two posts looking at the costs budgeting judgment of Mr Justice Constable in GS Woodland Court GP 1 Ltd & Anor v RGCM Ltd & Ors [2025] EWHC 285 (TCC). The judge made observations in…
We are considering the issue of adequate time estimates for the second time this year. We are also revisiting the judgment of Deputy Costs Judge Roy KC in Christodoulides v CP Christou LLP [2025] EWHC 214 (SCCO), however this time on…
In Dobson v Chief Constable of Leicestershire Police [2025] EWHC 272 (KB) HHJ Bird (sitting as a High Court Judge) considered which expert should be accepted in the context of a case against the police. He preferred the expert with…
In Christodoulides v CP Christou LLP [2025] EWHC 214 (SCCO) Deputy Costs Judge Roy KC considered the appropriate approach were part of the Points of Dispute to a bill of costs were non-compliant. He held that the appropriate course of…
Expert evidence plays a critical, often decisive, role in clinical negligence litigation. An ability to assess expert evidence is a key part of the litigator’s role. This webinar looks at the rules and cases that govern the credibility of expert…
In Hubbard & Anor v Hubbard & Anor [2024] EWHC 3123 (Ch) Master Marsh (sitting in retirement) rejected a defendant’s application to strike out a claim for an account and for summary judgment for the defendant. The court had no…
In Zavorotnii v Malinowski [2025] EWHC 260 (KB) HHJ Karen Walden-Smith considered the arguments as to whether a major reduction in a party’s costs budget should lead to an order for costs being made, rather than an order for costs…
Since I wrote about a decision transferring Administrative Court proceedings to Leeds it is appropriate that we look at a decision today ordering that the proceedings stay in London despite it having closer ties to Manchester. In Weis, R (On…
In Whittle v HM Coroner for North West Wales [2025] EWHC 236 (Admin) the Administrative Court dealt with an issue relating to failure to serve the claim form in time. The Court found a solution. However the judgment is important…
In SK Enterprises (UK) Ltd, R (On the Application Of) v Secretary of State for the Home Department (Re Determination as to Venue) [2025] EWHC 237 (Admin) Mrs Justice Hill held that an action in the Administrative Court should be…
In Morris v Williams [2025] EWHC 218 (KB) District Judge Dodsworth considered the question of whether a letter from the claimant’s former solicitor, which contained proposals by the claimant to settle allegations of fundamental dishonesty, could be adduced as evidence. …
In Bailey & Ors v GlaxoSmithKline UK Ltd [2025] EWHC 186 (KB) Mr Justice Bourne considered whether the defendant should have an extension of time. The judge considered whether the “Denton” principles apply to the defendant’s application and if not…
I am grateful to Professor Keith Rix for allowing me to use an article that appears in February’s Expert Healthcare Witness Matters*. This deals with the question of whether an expert can, or should, agree to act on a conditional…
If ever there was a case that highlighted the need for solicitors to consider the terms of the retainer with care, and know the law relating to Damages Based Agreements in detail, it is the judgment of Costs Judge Brown…
In Xenfin Fund 1 Trading Ltd v GFG Ltd & Ors [2025] EWHC 172 (Ch) Joanna Wicks KC (sitting as a Deputy High Court Judge) considered two issues relating to service of the claim form. Firstly whether a slightly wrong…
Here we look at an interview with San Francisco Superior Court Judge, Curtis Karnow. The interview was about a book the judge had written “Litigation in Practice“, which is available in the UK. The original interview by is Ros Todd. As…
There is a very unusual element to the judgment of Mr Justice Kerr in Olsen & Anor v Finansiel Stabilitet A/S [2025] EWHC 42 (KB). The appellants, litigants in person, relied on case law that apparently supported their case. That…
This blog regularly features cases where there have been issues, sometimes major problems, with expert evidence. This webinar takes a close look at the factors that the courts take into account when considering which expert’s view should be accepted. It…
We have looked at the judgment in Aviva Insurance Ltd v Nadeem & Anor [2024] EWHC 3445 (KB) HHJ Tindal (sitting as Judge of the High Court) before, in the context of the failure of committal proceedings following an earlier finding…
In T v T & Ors (Disregard for Procedural Rules, Adjournment) [2025] EWFC 14 (B) Recorder Chandler KC set out a large number of matters on which the applicant had failed to comply with the rules. It is a judgment…
The Court of Appeal decision in Birley & Anor v Heritage Independent Living Ltd [2025] EWCA Civ 44 also dealt with an interesting point of procedure. The appellant company had been dissolved shortly before the appeal was heard. The Court of…
We are returning to the decision of the Court of Appeal in Court of Appeal in Birley & Anor v Heritage Independent Living Ltd [2025] EWCA Civ 44. The Court upheld a finding that the failure to serve the claim form, or…
It was possible that we could get to the end of January without a claim form case being reported. It was, however, unlikely. A failure to serve was one of the many issues considered by the Court of Appeal in…
We are returning, for the final post (for the time being at least) to the judgment of Cost Judge Rowley in Perrett v Wolferstans LLP [2025] EWHC 68 (SCCO). The judge considered the question of how the costs should be…
In Aviva Insurance Ltd v Nadeem & Anor [2024] EWHC 3445 (KB) HHJ Tindal (sitting as Judge of the High Court) dismissed an action for committal against someone who had been found to be fundamentally dishonest at a personal injury…
We are again returning to the judgment of Cost Judge Rowley in Perrett v Wolferstans LLP [2025] EWHC 68 (SCCO). Here we examine the claimant’s (former client’s) arguments in relation to the deduction of costs breaching the Consumer Rights Act 2015…
In St Francis Group 1 Ltd & Ors v Kelly & Anor [2025] EWHC 125 (SCCO) Costs Judge Leonard struck out large parts of a defendant’s Points of Dispute. The Points of Dispute were inadequately particularised. The judgment contains an…
I am grateful to barrister Thomas Mason for drawing my attention to the judgment of Senior Costs Judge Gordon-Saker in Topalsson GmbH v CMS Cameron McKenna Nabarro Olswang LLP [2025] EWHC 118 (SCCO). The judge determined that a series of…
In AKS v National Farmers Union Mutual Insurance Society Ltd [2025] EWHC 126 (SCCO) Costs Judge Leonard recounted an extraordinary set of facts where a solicitor had wrongly deducted sums from their client’s damages. The judgment shows that this issue…
Continuing with revisiting guidance from judges in relation to advocacy. Here I advocate (hopefully in a civil way) learning from one judgment. That is the judgment of District Judge Chin in the extraordinary case of Revson -v- Cinque & Cinque in…
In Omanovic v Shamaazi Ltd & Anor [2025] EWHC 110 (KB) Mr Justice Martin Spencer granted the defendants’ application that the terms of settlement with two claimants were inadmissible in the trial of the remaining claimant. On the facts of…
We are continuing with the examination of the judgment of Cost Judge Rowley Perrett v Wolferstans LLP [2025] EWHC 68 (SCCO). Here the judge considered (and rejected) that claimant’s [former client’s] argument that the CFA entered into with the solicitor was…
In Kington SARL v Thames Water Utilities Holdings Ltd (Rev1) [2025] EWHC 84 (Ch) Mr Justice Trower rejected the applicant’s application to rely on expert evidence. The proposed expert report was to “uncertain” and, in any event, unlikely to assist…
Every year this blog covers numerous cases where claimants (and occasionally defendants) come to grief in relation to service of the claim form. The frustrating issue in relation to service issues is that most (if not all) of the problems…
This post is another in the series of repeats of the series on advocacy. This blog has many posts that record cases where judges have been critical of the contents (and usually length) of skeleton arguments. A remedy for most…
There is a strange area of litigation and legal costs where issues of proportionality and common sense appear to totally disappear. – that is former client’s challenges to solicitor’s deductions from damages. We see another example in Perrett v Wolferstans…
In JXX v Archibald [2025] EWHC 69 (SCCO) Costs Judge Rowley considered the – much debated and litigated – issue of whether there needs to be breakdown of an expert’s fee when the expert is instructed through an agency. The…



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