In Johnston -v- Wackett [2022] EWHC 129 (Ch) Deputy Master Brightwell considered the question of whether costs become payable when a final costs certificate is not obtained. “Even though most paying parties may in practice pay without the need…
The judgment of Mrs Justice Lambert in Radia v Marks [2022] EWHC 145 (QB) is also interesting reading in that it gives an insight into the assessment of costs in earlier proceedings. It highlights the dangers and costs of costs proceedings…
It is surprising how many clinical negligence cases rest, ultimately, on findings of fact as to what was said. An example can be seen in the judgment of Mr Justice Ritchie in Watson v Lancashire Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust…
In Fortt, R (On the Application Of) v Financial Services Compensation Scheme Ltd [2022] EWHC 152 (Admin) Mr Justice Fordham ordered that judicial review proceedings be sent to Manchester rather than heard in London. The judgment emphasises the importance of…
For the second time today I am writing about a case concerning a jointly instructed expert. In Loggie v Loggie [2022] EWFC 2 Mr Justice Mostyn had to determine who should pay the costs of an expert whose final costs…
The judgment of Mrs Justice Lambert in Radia v Marks [2022] EWHC 145 (QB) is essential reading for anyone who instructs experts in litigation. It is also essential reading for experts. The judge dismissed a claim in negligence against a…
The impairment of someone’s ability to earn their living is always a serious matter. There are a number of approaches that the court can take to the award of damages. Anyone representing a claimant should read McRae -v- Chase International…
In The Public Institution for Social Security v Banque Pictet & Cie SA & Ors [2022] EWCA Civ 29 the Court of Appeal were concerned about the costs involved in litigation on what were, essentially, preliminary issues. This included the…
The Highway Code is changing on the 29th January 2022. This has some relevance to lawyers. Here we look at the importance of the Highway Code, the significant changes, with links as to where to find the new rules and…
In Dal v Bicknell & Anor [2022] EWHC 120 (Ch) Mr Justice Edwin Johnson considered the circumstances in which a party, refused permission to appeal, could seek to re-open the decision to refuse permission. The cases in which that can…
The judgment of Costs Judge Leonard in ABA v University Hospitals Coventry and Warwickshire NHS Trust [2022] EWHC B4 (Costs) highlights a point of costs and practice that is easily overlooked. A successful party who is awarded costs in a…
Recently we have looked at several cases where the importance of proper pleading was emphasises. For instance in Charles Russell Speechlys LLP v Beneficial House (Birmingham) Regeneration LLP [2021] EWHC 3458 (QB) the appeal was allowed, and the matter remitted…
In Mulalley & Co. Ltd v Martlet Homes Ltd [2022] EWCA Civ 32 the Court of Appeal upheld a decision that a claimant, seeking to amend its Particulars of Claim by referring to matters pleaded in the defence, was pleading…
We have already looked at the judgment of HHJ Pearce (sitting as a High Court Judge) in The Huntsworth Wine Company Ltd v London City Bond Ltd [2022] EWHC 98 in relation to the construction of Part 36 offers. This was…
I am grateful to solicitor John McQuater for sending me a copy of the decision in Denton -v- Ms Amlin Underwriting (County Court at Doncaster 6th August 2021). It relates to an insurer defendant attempting to deduct an excess figure…
I am grateful to solicitor Richard Harrison for allowing me to reproduce his post on “The importance of tone in litigation”. This blog has looked, many times, at judicial criticism of intemperate correspondence. Richard’s observations here will strike a chord…
In Palmer v Mantas & Anor [2022] EWHC 90 (QB) Anthony Metzer QC (sitting as Deputy High Court Judge) awarded a claimant £1,206,053) in loss of earnings. The judge found that the approach in Smith -v- Manchester was not an…
There is an interesting issue in relation to recusal in the judgment of Mrs Justice Arbuthnot in Griffiths v Griffiths (Decision on Recusal) [2021] EWHC 3600 (Fam). THE CASE The judge was determining issues relating to access to children….
In R v Barts Health NHS Trust [2022] EWHC B3 (Costs) Costs Judge Rowley considered a number of interesting issues relating to the problem of apportioning costs where two actions had been run alongside each other. There are interesting observations…
DEFENDANT’S EXPERTS, STRIDENT LANGUAGE AND THE PART 35 DUTY OWED TO THE COURT: JUDGE ISSUES REMINDER
The previous post looked at the rejection of allegations of fundamental dishonesty in Palmer v Mantas & Anor [2022] EWHC 90 (QB). That judgment also contains some observations in relation to several of the medical experts called on behalf of the…
In Palmer v Mantas & Anor [2022] EWHC 90 (QB) Anthony Metzer QC (sitting as a Deputy High Court Judge) rejected an argument that a claimant had been fundamentally dishonest. Judgment was entered for £1,679.406 instead of a finding of…
In Davis & Anor v Winner [2021] EW Misc 23 (CC) the parties between them appear to have spent over £200,000 in costs. This is a dispute over inches of land. It is not surprising that HHJ Mithani QC expressed…
The judgment of HHJ Pearce (sitting as a High Court Judge) in The Huntsworth Wine Company Ltd v London City Bond Ltd [2022] EWHC 98 (comm) contains a detailed consideration of several aspects of the law of costs. It is…
YOU CAN’T RAISE A TOTALLY NEW POINT ON APPEAL: COURT OF APPEAL DOES NOT ALLOW A MAJOR CHANGE OF CASE
In London Borough of Brent v Johnson [2022] EWCA Civ 28 the Court of Appeal set out the difficulties for a party that wishes to take a fundamentally new or different point on appeal. This gives rise to major difficulties…
In S (Vulnerable Party: Fairness Of Proceedings) [2022] EWCA Civ 8 the Court of Appeal set aside a judgment when the court had not appreciated that a key witness was a vulnerable witness and that steps needed to be taken…
In the judgment today in Prime London Holdings 11 Ltd v Thurloe Lodge Ltd [2022] EWHC 79 (Ch) Mr Nicholas Thompsell (sitting as a Deputy Judge of the High Court) considered the appropriate response to a witness statement that failed…
The Court of Appeal judgment today in The Good Law Project, R (On the Application Of) v Minister for the Cabinet Office [2022] EWCA Civ will, no doubt, be subject to much legal, and political, scrutiny. Here I want to…
I am grateful to solicitor Hamish Cameron Blackie for sending me a copy of the judgment of HHJ Bloom in Conlon -v- Ringway Infrastructure Services Ltd (County Court at Luton, 2nd December 2021) where the judge struck out an action…
I am grateful to barrister Richard Wilkinson for sending me a copy of the decision of Master Thornett in O’Grady -v- B15 Group Limited [2022] EWHC 67 (QB). The Master decided that Part 36 offers were subject to the doctrine…
In Peter Sharp & Son (a Firm) v GEA Farm Technologies (UK) Ltd [2022] EWHC 64 (Ch) Deputy Master Raeburn considered issues relating to “similar fact” evidence and made an order preventing a claimant from adducing evidence in relation to other…
In Alfozan v Quastel Midgen LLP [2022] EWHC 66 (Comm) HHJ Pearce (sitting as a High Court judge) struck out an action on the grounds of the claimant’s delay. The case had been “warehoused” and the claimant had not adduced…
In Hirst & Anor v Dunbar & Ors [2022] EWHC 41 (TCC) Mr Justice Eyre highlighted the need for a claimant to prove losses, and expenditure, the court will not speculate on items relating to expenditure. “In my judgement…
I am sure that our eminent housing bloggers and commentators will write about the important substantive judgment in the case of Rosebery Housing Association Ltd v Williams & Anor [2021] EW Misc 22 (CC). However this blog deals with only one…
In Vitrition UK Ltd v Caine & Ors [2022] EWHC 51 (Comm) HHJ Davis-White QC, sitting as a judge of the High Court, refused the defendants application for relief from sanctions following their failure to comply with an unless order…
There are a number of cases reported today in relation to service of the claim form and relief from sanctions. This may be an appropriate time to remind people of the webinar on the 20th January 2020 “Avoiding Procedural Pitfalls…
The first (but probably not the last) case on service of the claim form arrives in January, with the Court of Appeal decision in Ideal Shopping Direct Ltd & Ors v Mastercard Incorporated & Ors [2022] EWCA Civ 14. It…
Issues relating to adjournments are a regular feature of the search terms that lead to this blog. There are two recent cases where questions relating to adjournments were considered, the first we will look at is the judgment of Mr…
In Kea Investments Ltd v Watson [2022] EWHC 5 (Ch) Lord Justice Nugee considered the question of what costs order should be made after a respondent had been committed to prison for contempt. The applicant had succeeded on some, but…
In The Sky’s the Limit Transformations Ltd v Mirza [2022] EWHC 29 (TCC) HHJ Stephen Davies makes a number of suggestions designed to mitigate the potentially ruinous costs of litigation in relation to domestic building disputes. ” … it would…
This blog has looked, several times, at the judgment of Mr Justice Johnson in TVZ & Ors v Manchester City Football Club [2022] EWHC 7 (QB). It is also worth looking at for the explanation the judge gives as to the steps…
It may say a lot about contemporary litigation that the practice of numerous witnesses producing near identical witness statements is so common that I almost decided not to write about it. The practice was considered by HHJ Judge Hodge QC…
The previous post looked at the decision in TVZ & Ors v Manchester City Football Club [2022] EWHC 7 (QB) in relation to the issue of vicarious liability. However it is important to note that the claimants did not succeed in…
The judgment of Mr Justice Johnson in TVZ & Ors v Manchester City Football Club [2022] EWHC 7 (QB) makes for difficult reading. The judge pays tribute to the remarkable men who brought the action, all of whom had been…
In European Real Estate Debt Fund (Cayman) Ltd v Treon & Ors [2021] EWHC 2866 (Ch) Mr Justice Miles considered issues relating to costs after a defendant had succeeded at trial because the claimant’s action was statute barred. The judge…
In Hankin v Barrington & Ors [2021] EWHC B1 (Costs) Deputy Master Campbell considered the question of whether leading counsel’s brief fee was payable in full (or in part) by the defendant when the brief had been delivered but the…
Here I want to look at some practical matters which can help a party seeking relief from sanctions. This is guidance on the most prudent steps to take but it should be made clear that there are no easy options….
This may be one of the few blogs that has a category “Trial Bundles”, with dozens of posts on this topic. It remains one of the most searched and read subjects on this site. Here I am revisiting a useful…
There are several hundred posts on this site about the drafting of witness statements. These are usually written about because things have gone awry. The skill and effort involved in drafting a proper and appropriate witness statement are often overlooked. …
NB THIS DECISION WAS OVERTURNED BY MR JUSTICE JOHNSON, SEE Lisa Jones v Richard Slade And Company Ltd [2022] EWHC 1968 (QB) In Jones -v- Richard Slade & Co Ltd [2021] EWHC B28 (Costs) Costs Judge Rowley rejected the defendant’s…
I have said before that some of the most popular posts on this blog are those where there is a costs assessment. We can see a detailed breakdown in an assessment in the judgment of HHJ Pearce in Hodgson v…
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