In Blower v GH Canfields LLP [2024] EWHC 2763 (Ch) HHJ Matthews (sitting as a High Court Judge) rejected a claimant’s case on negligence against a firm of solicitors who had reached a settlement of an action against her and…
When matters get to trial the issue for the judge to determine is often that of witness credibility. Little thought is given by practitioners to how the judge is going to assess the credibility of witnesses, their own side’s witnesses…
This series continues the recap of the views from judges around the world and the advice they give to advocates. Here we look at the article from J. Frederic Voros, jr for the Utah State Bar: To Persuade a Judge,…
The case we looked at yesterday Corfield v Howard [2024] EWHC 2727 (Comm) provides an important reminder of a basic principle of the computation of time. A hearing was taking place on a Monday. The skeleton arguments were ordered to be…
In Corfield v Howard [2024] EWHC 2727 (Comm) HH Judge Davis-White KC (sitting as a Judge of the King’s Bench Division) reminded practitioners of the need for skeleton arguments to be filed in time accordance with court orders. …
In Ahmad v Ouajjou & Anor [2024] EWHC 2213 (Comm) HHJ Pelling KC found it was appropriate to make a peremptory order following the defendants’ failure to pay interlocutory costs orders. (This decision was considered in Ahmad v Ouajjou & Anor…
My colleagues Steven Turner and Andrew Hogan are presenting a free webinar on the 5th November on Non-Party Costs Orders. Booking details are available here. The webinar considers the law practice and procedure relating to non-party costs orders in the context…
A webinar on the 5th November looks at loss of earnings from the point of view of loss of benefits and pension claims. It is important that the very real value of “fringe” benefits is not overlooked when looking at…
I am grateful to my colleagues Sam Karim KC and Fay Collinson for pointing out the decision of BJB, In the Matter Of [2024] EWCOP 59 (T2). In that case HHJ Hilder granted the claimant’s application that she be released…
Australia and looking at the guidance given by the Hon Chief Justice Pat Keane in his keynote address to the Australian Lawyers Alliance Queensland State Conference in February 2013. (At the moment I cannot find a link to the original…
It is worthwhile highlighting one aspect of the judgment of Neil Moody KC (sitting as a High Court judge) in Winterbotham v Shahrak [2024] EWHC 2633 (KB), looked at in the previous post. The judge applied different multipliers to the claim. A…
There are many difficult issues facing a self-employed claimant making a claim for loss of earnings. This issue was considered by Neil Moody KC (sitting as a High Court judge) in Winterbotham v Shahrak [2024] EWHC 2633 (KB). …
There is a short footnote to the judgment of the Supreme Court in Tindall and another (Appellants) v Chief Constable of Thames Valley Police (Respondent) [2024] UKSC 33. It contains a warning to all of those advocates (that is probably…
In Oakwood Solicitors Ltd (Respondent) v Menzies (Appellant) [2024] UKSC 34 the Supreme Court overturned the Court of Appeal decision that the sending out an account and deducting costs from damages meant a bill had been “paid” for the purpose…
In the judgment today in Oakwood Solicitors Ltd (Respondent) v Menzies (Appellant) [2024] UKSC 34 the Supreme Court overturned the Court of Appeal decision. The upshot of this is that there will now be an assessment of the solicitor/own client…
ADVOCACY – THE JUDGE’S VIEW III: PREPARE PROPERLY AND SEE THE SCENE FOR YOURSELF: A VIEW FROM CANADA
As part of the repeated series looking at the advice that judges give to advocates (and how this relates to civil litigators in particular) we return to Canada. Judge Carol Baird Ellan collected the views of 12 of her colleagues…
In Ahmad v Ouajjou & Anor [2024] EWHC 2659 (Comm) Mr Justice Bryan granted the defendant an extension of time to comply with a peremptory order to pay costs. The application was made “ahead of time”. CPR 3.9 did not…
It is rare to see a judgment where the Court of Appeal openly issues an apology for its own administrative errors. We have such an apology in the judgment in Rana v First-Tier Tribunal (Immigration & Asylum Chamber) [2024] EWCA…
We are returning to the judgment of HHJ Stephen Davies in Workman Properties Ltd v Adi Building And Refurbishment Ltd [2024] EWHC 2627 (TCC). This time to look at the judge’s concluding observations as to venue. The failure to issue in…
In Workman Properties Ltd v Adi Building And Refurbishment Ltd [2024] EWHC 2627 (TCC) HHJ Stephen Davies sent out a clear reminder of the duties on all parties in a Part 8 case where the court was being asked to…
In Titan Wealth Holdings Ltd & Ors v Okunola (Rev1) [2024] EWHC 2586 (KB) Mrs Justice Hill considered the Denton criteria when granting the claimant permission to rely on a witness statement served out of time. There was a good…
In Burns v Bridge & Anor [2024] EWHC 2620 (Ch) HHK Cawson KC, sitting as a High Court Judge, observed that the claimant’s witness statement did not comply with PD 57AC. The witness statement was, to all and intents and…
The Courts Funds Office has reduced the rates of interest payable from the 19th September 2024. In the announcement that can be found here the rates on the special account and basic account are decreased. Special Account – decreased…
The post I repeated yesterday on Things Lawyers do to Annoy Judges was, without doubt, when first written one of the most publicised and read posts on this blog. I think it was that post that led to the blog…
In Mainwaring v Bailey [2024] EWHC 2614 (Fam) Mr Justice Henke ordered an unsuccessful appellant to pay the respondent’s costs. He rejected the appellant’s argument that his appeal was so evidently hopeless that the respondent should not have responded. He…
Regular readers of this blog will be familiar with the judgment of Mr Justice Joseph W. Quinn He has been blunt in his assessment of witness credibility in some reported cases. He is equally blunt in his assessment of lawyers…
The Civil Procedure Rules were amended on the 1st of this month to make it clear that the court can compel the parties to engage in alternative dispute resolution. Here we look at the changes. There is a webinar on…
In Andrew Reynolds v Chief Constable of Kent Police [2024] EWHC 2487 (KB) Mr Justice Sheldon found that a claim for false imprisonment was not a claim for damages for personal injury. A false imprisonment claim, therefore, was not subject to the…
In Senay & Anor v Mulsanne Insurance Company Ltd [2024] EWCC 12 HHJ Charman found that a finding of fundamental dishonesty in a personal injury action did not affect the claimant’s rights to recover damages for the property claim to…
We have considered the dangers of attempting to use artificial intelligence in litigation before. The use of artificial intelligence in an expert report was considered b Schopf.S in the Surrogate’s Court, Saratoga County, in the “Matter of Weber”. “The mere…
We are continuing with our detailed examination of the Kings Bench Masters Cost Management Hearings Guidance Note. This time we are looking at issues relating to delegation. Costs budgeting and Cost Judges encourage delegation. The problem for many practitioners is that…
In Oliver v Duffy [2024] EWHC 2590 Mrs Justice Hill considered an application for relief from sanction in a case where witnesses had not attended trial. The judge granted relief from sanctions but went on to hold that those statements…
In her very last judgment in the case of Elphicke v Times Media Ltd [2024] EWHC 2595 (KB) Master McCloud considered the question of whether it is possible for a court to take into account pre-discontinuance conduct when considering whether…
The Health and Safety Executive website reports that there were were 649,000 incidents of violence at work in 2022/23 and that 292,000 adults experienced violence at work in the same period. 41% of the assaults resulted in actual injury. The…
On the 8th November I am speaking at the Fixed Recoverable Costs Conference in London. The conference covers numerous aspects of fixed recoverable costs. (I am speaking on fixed costs, fatal cases and the costs of attending an inquest). Booking…
Senior Master Cook published the Kings Bench Masters Cost Management Hearings Guidance Note on the 26th September. I am going through this on a topic by topic guide. Here we look at the general approach to budgeting and hourly rates. …
The case of Farnham Town Council v Secretary of State for Levelling Up Housing & Communities & Anor [2024] EWHC 2458 (Admin) (Tim Smith, sitting as a High Court Judge) is far from being the first case about service of…
In Glaser & Anor v Atay [2024] EWCA Civ 1111 the Court of Appeal upheld the decision that a contractual term that meant Leading counsel and junior counsel would be paid even if a trial was adjourned was unfair. Being…
On the 15th October I am presenting a webinar looking at fatal claims when the deceased person has died because they are a victim of crime. This webinar looks at the Criminal Injuries Compensation Scheme in detail and then considers…
I have a strong suspicion that “fish files” form a considerable percentage of the cases that are written about on this blog. It is an issue that has been looked at several times in the past. A “fish file” is…
CONSIDERING THE IMPACT OF INFLATION WHEN LOOKING AT THE JUDICIAL COLLEGE GUIDELINES: A CASE TO POINT
It has been established for some time that the figures in the Judicial College Guidelines for the Assessment of Personal Injury Damages are themselves subject to indexation for inflation. The most recent Guidelines (the 17th) are based on the RPI…
For some time now the courts have been grappling with the notion of the “implied sanction” in relation to rules and orders. Some rules are subject to “implied sanctions” so that a failure to comply means that a party has…
For many years now I have been researching and writing about the particular problems that face practitioners when they are dealing with a claim by a child who could suffer loss of earnings in the future as a result of…
Many people are starting their pupillages and training contracts at the moment. I thought it would be a good idea to revisit advice given (or rather gathered) on this blog in the past. When someone about to start pupillage asked…
There is a short passage in the judgment of Master Davison in The Owners of the “Christos Theo” v The Owners of the “Aliki” [2024] EWHC 2106 (Admlty) which deals with an issue rarely considered by the courts – how…
As a change to the almost never ending issues relating to late service of the claim form we have a case about late service of the Particulars of Claim. In Joseph v McFaddens LLP [2024] EWHC 2447 (Ch) Deputy Master…
The judgment of HHJ Russen KC in Kay v Martineau Johnson (A Firm) [2024] EWHC 2451 (Ch) highlights the profound dangers of a solicitor for a party being a witness in the case that is being brought. Those dangers are…
In McInerney v Nottinghamshire Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust (Victimisation) [2024] EAT 158 HHJ James Tayler (in the Employment Appeal Tribunal) dismissed the claimant’s appeal in relation to loss of earnings. The Employment Tribunal had found that the claimant had failed…
In Guest Supplies Intl Ltd v Spector Constant & Williams Limited [2024] EWHC 2450 (SCCO) Costs Judge Nagalingam decided that a series of bills sent by a solicitor were not statutory bills, neither were they “Chamberlain bills”. In any event…
The judgment in Williams-Henry v Associated British Ports & Anor (Re Wasted Costs Order) [2024] EWHC 2415 (KB) we looked at last week contained some important observations about the limit of a solicitor’s duty to check their own client’s social media…
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