On the 18th July I am giving a webinar “Drafting witness statements in high value personal injury claims: A guide for Grade C fee earners (and those who supervise them)”, booking details are available here. THE REASON FOR THE WEBINAR…
In Invenia Technical Computing Corporation & Anor v Hudson [2024] EWHC 1481 (KB) Mr Justice Knowles held that a party that had refused a reasonable request for an extension of time should pay the costs of that application. “……
There are four webinars over the next four weeks dealing with key elements of fatal accident litigation. An introduction to the coroner’s court for personal injury and clinical negligence lawyers 23rd July 2024 This webinar is an introduction to the…
In Invest Bank PSC v El-Husseini & Ors [2024] EWHC 1804 (Comm) Mr Justice Calver refused the claimant bank’s application for relief from sanctions when it served a notice of a notice to prove the authenticity of a document. The…
There is an interesting example of a summary assessment of costs in action in the judgment of Mr Andrew Twigger KC (sitting as a Deputy Judge of the High Court) in Wootton & Anor v Wootton & Ors (Re Costs)…
In Broom v Aguilar [2024] EWHC 1764 (Ch) HHJ Paul Matthews (sitting as a High Court Judge) decided that a claim form had not been properly served when it was served at a time that the defendant was living abroad….
Unsurprisingly we are returning to the judgment in Pan NOx Emissions Litigations [2024] EWHC 1728 (KB). The judges gave some examples of parts of the claimants’ budgets in particular that had been “overbudgeted”. They were not shy IN setting out their…
I am grateful to barrister Matthew Snarr for sending me a better copy of the judgments of HHJ Sephton KC (sitting as a High Court Judge) in Shaw -v- Wilde, a copy of that judgment is available here Shaw v Wilde Final…
We are continuing to look at the judgment in relation to the budgets in Pan NOx Emissions Litigations [2024] EWHC 1728 (KB). In this post we are considering the argument that since claimants’ budget was very similar to the defendants’…
The general observations made about the budgets in Pan NOx Emissions Litigations [2024] EWHC 1728 (KB) is of importance. The court was particularly scathing of the claimants’ budget. It also rejected the claimants’ contention that the defendants’ budget had been artificially…
We are continuing with the examination of the judgment of Mr Justice Constable and Senior Costs Judge Saker in Pan NOx Emissions Litigations [2024] EWHC 1728 (KB). This time by looking at the court’s consideration of issues of proportionality when…
The judgment of Mr Justice Constable sitting with Senior Costs Judge Saker in Pan NOx Emissions Litigations [2024] EWHC 1728 (KB) contains much that is of interest to litigators. The judges budgeted a case where the claimants sought over £342…
In McAteer v Hat & Mitre & Ors (Re Consequential Matters) [2024] EWHC 1746 (Ch) Sir Anthony Mann (sitting as a High Court Judge) dismissed the unsuccessful appellant’s application that the respondent’s costs be reduced. There were also some important…
The Court of Appeal decision in Menzies v Oakwood Solicitors Ltd [2023] EWCA Civ 844 was appealed to the Supreme Court and was heard last week. The judgment is pending. In the interim period my colleague Matthew Smith suggests that claimant…
In Smith v Kirkegaard [2024] EWCA Civ 698 the Court of Appeal found that it is not possible to imprison someone for contempt if they have failed to pay costs ordered during a court action. The judgment involves a look…
The importance of careful drafting in a client retainer can be seen in the judgment of Costs Judge Whalan in Stella v Hodge Jones & Allan LLP [2024] EWHC 1704 (SCCO). The case concerned an issue about whether interim bills…
In One Trees Estates Ltd, R (On the Application Of) v Secretary of State for the Home Department [2024] EWHC 1644 (Admin) Margaret Obi, sitting as a Deputy High Court Judge, refused the Secretary of State’s application for permission to…
We are looking for the third time at the judgment in St. James v Wilkin Chapman LLP [2024] EWHC 1716 (KB). One of the issues that the (former) client raised was the absence of any accurate estimate in relation to costs…
In Guo v Kinder & Others [2024] EWCA Civ 762 the Court of Appeal rejected an argument that the claimant’s earlier, unsuccessful, attempts to issue a claim form meant that the later claim form could be backdated. The action was,…
Normally when this blog looks at issues relating to insolvency it relates to procedural or other practical problems arising when a party is made insolvent. The judgment of HHJ Cawson KC in Secretary of State for Business and Trade v…
We are looking again at the judgment in St. James v Wilkin Chapman LLP [2024] EWHC 1716 (KB). The judge considered the question of whether the client had been informed that the budget had been exceeded and that the solicitors…
NB AN APPEAL WAS ALLOWED IN THIS CASE SEE Bellway Homes Ltd v The Occupiers of Samuel Garside House [2025] EWCA Civ 1347 This is the sixth time we have looked at the judgment in Occupiers of Samuel Garside House v…
The previous post on the judgment in St. James v Wilkin Chapman LLP [2024] EWHC 1716 (KB) highlights the fact that great care is needed in entering into funding agreements with clients when the solicitor proposes to deduct costs from the…
In St. James v Wilkin Chapman LLP [2024] EWHC 1716 (KB) Mr Justice Constable allowed an appeal against a decision that a solicitor was entitled to deduct additional costs from the claimant’s damages. The judge held that the terms of…
This is the fifth time we have looked at the judgment in Occupiers of Samuel Garside House v Bellway Homes Ltd & Anor [2024] EWHC 1579 (KB). This time we look at another “trap for the unwary” – the Particulars of Claim were…
I am grateful to barrister Matthew Snarr for sending me a copy of the judgments of HHJ Sephton KC (sitting as a High Court Judge) in Shaw -v- Wilde, copies of those judgments are available here shaw-v-wilde-judgment . I will…
In 2021 a working group of legal professionals published a set of Competencies for practitioners working in the Coroners’ Courts, in addition to providing a useful toolkit. Concerns were raised following the experiences of the families of the victims of…
We are returning to the judgment of HHJ Karen Walden-Smith in Hamed -v- Ministry of Justice (County Court in Cambridge – 7th June 2024). The judge found that the claimant had been fundamentally dishonest in the presentation of their symptoms. This…
NB AN APPEAL WAS ALLOWED IN THIS CASE SEE Bellway Homes Ltd v The Occupiers of Samuel Garside House [2025] EWCA Civ 1347 We are continuing with the judgment in Occupiers of Samuel Garside House v Bellway Homes Ltd & Anor [2024]…
We are taking a short break from the detailed examination of issues relating to service of the claim form to look at another common issue on this blog – an expert that failed to comply with the rules. I am…
NB AN APPEAL WAS ALLOWED IN THIS CASE SEE Bellway Homes Ltd v The Occupiers of Samuel Garside House [2025] EWCA Civ 1347 This is the third time (and not the last time) we are looking at the judgment of Occupiers of…
NB AN APPEAL WAS ALLOWED IN THIS CASE SEE Bellway Homes Ltd v The Occupiers of Samuel Garside House [2025] EWCA Civ 1347 We are returning to the judgment of Master Dagnall in Occupiers of Samuel Garside House v Bellway Homes…
NB AN APPEAL WAS ALLOWED IN THIS CASE SEE Bellway Homes Ltd v The Occupiers of Samuel Garside House [2025] EWCA Civ 1347 The judgment of Master Dagnall in Occupiers of Samuel Garside House v Bellway Homes Ltd & Anor…
This week we have looked back at some of the consistent topics on this blog over the past 11 years: expert evidence; witness statements; proving things, among them. I could have added many others: Part 36; service (or non-service) of…
As part of the looking back series this week I have chosen a case from the “Proving things” series in June 2017. The post looked at the judgment of HHJ Paul Matthews (sitting as a High Court Judge) in Jones -v- Oven…
Yesterday I wrote about the large numbers of posts about expert witnesses on this blog. These are probably matched by the cases that deal with judicial criticism of witness statements. Again this is a topic where, in choosing one post,…
In Prospect v Evans [2024] EWHC 1533 (KB) Mrs Justice Steyn held that a challenge to a trade union’s right to bring defamation proceedings should not have been made by using Part 11. Part 11 applications deal with jurisdiction. The…
Looking back at previous posts there are, numerous, indeed hundreds, where the courts have considered the role of experts. The cases that appear on this blog tend to be where judges have found the experts wanting. It almost feels unfair…
In D and A (Fact-Finding : Research Literature) [2024] EWCA Civ 663 the Court of Appeal set out a clear warning about the dangers of trial judges analysing research literature in detail. The literature should be read through the prism…
Today marks the 11th anniversary of the setting up of this blog. Rather than review the previous decade I thought it would be a good time to repeat what I said on the first anniversary. The growth and size of…
As part of the 11th anniversary process I am looking at a blog that was written in June 2014. “WITNESS STATEMENTS ARE FOR FACTS: KNOWING THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN EVIDENCE AND SUBMISSIONS (AND WHY IT MATTERS)”. It is very interesting to…
Next week marks the 11th anniversary of this blog. I am reviewing key posts from the past. This was the second ever post on the 25th June 2013. The issues remain relevant. I have issued periodical reminders about this issue…
I cannot recall a case where, in the space of a week, there have been two cases about the circumstances in which a trial judge can give permission to appeal after judgment has been handed down. The second for the…
I can’t think of any other case where this blog has featured a case that was decided prior to the introduction of the Civil Procedure Rules. However the judgment in Rigby v Decorating Den Systems Ltd [1999] EWCA Civ 986…
NB THIS DECISION WAS OVERTURNED IN AN APPEAL BY CONSENT. SEE THE POST ON THE 8th JULY 2025 I am grateful to my colleague Kevin Latham for drawing my attention to the decision of Mr Justice Eyre in Holcroft v…
It is always important to remember that appeals from Circuit Judges, which are themselves a decision made on appeal, can only be heard by the Court of Appeal. In Jarvis v Metro Taxis Ltd [2024] EWHC 1452 (KB) Mr Justice…
We are looking again at the judgment of Mr Justice Sweeting in Elbanna v Clark (Re Consequential Matters) [2024] EWHC 1471 (KB). The defendant sought permission to appeal. However by virtue of attempting to appeal to the Court of Appeal, thereby…
In Elbanna v Clark (Re Consequential Matters) [2024] EWHC 1471 (KB) Mr Justice Sweeting found that a claimant’s Part 36 offer to accept 75% of liability was too ambiguous to be effective when issues of causation were also to be…
There is a danger that this webinar may be overshadowed by other events on the day. This webinar considers the law and practice in relation to contributory negligence. Booking details are available here. THE WEBINAR The webinar considers the…
There has not been a case on (mis)service of the claim form on this blog for 14 days now. It may be an appropriate time to go back to one of the problem areas – service on a solicitor. There…
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