In Michael v Lillitos [2019] EWHC 2716 (QB) Mrs Justice Steyn overturned a decision refusing relief from sanctions. The Appellant had made payments by cheque rather than by bank transfer. It is also an important example of the pitfalls caused…
Today I am speaking at the Motor Accidents Solicitors Society annual conference on the topic of “Avoiding a Breakdown – Helping Your Clients by Helping Yourself”. I thought this would be a good day to start a new series on…
In Lakatamia v SU [2019] EWCA Civ 1626 the Court of Appeal refused an application for permission to appeal out of time in a case where the applicant had been committed to prison for contempt. “Hysaj establishes that the…
In Bell v Bedford Hospital NHS Trust [2019] EWHC 2704 (QB) the claimant established clinical negligence but failed to prove causation. THE CASE The claimant suffered a major stroke that left her with significant permanent disabilities. She claimed that…
I wrote about the first instance decision in Kogan v Martin & Ors [2019] EWCA Civ 1645 here. The Court of Appeal have ordered a retrial in the case. There are important observations about the role of the judge in…
In Hussain v EUI Ltd [2019] EWHC 2647 (QB) Mr Justice Pepperall dismissed a claimant’s appeal in relation to the assessment of damages. “Need for social and domestic purposes is not self-proving and, in this case, cannot simply be inferred”…
One, unusual, aspect of the decision in Mustard v Flower & Ors [2019] EWHC 2623 (QB) is that the experts had sought directions from the court. This brings attention to the (apparently) little used provisions of CPR 35.14. Experts have the…
An earlier post dealt with the case of Mustard v Flower & Ors [2019] EWHC 2623 (QB) and the claimant’s decision to record her appointments with the defendant’s medical experts. The issue of what, precisely, was said to an expert can…
There is another aspect of the judgment of Master Davison in In Mustard v Flower & Ors [2019] EWHC 2623 (QB) that is of considerable interest. The Master disallowed a series of lengthy questions to the experts. The Master pointed out…
In Mustard v Flower & Ors [2019] EWHC 2623 (QB) Master Davison allowed the claimant to produce as evidence the tapes they had recorded of their consultations with the defendant’s medical experts. This decision raises some interesting issues. (The case…
In Dover v Finsbury Food Group Plc [2019] EWHC B11 (Costs), Master Brown found that counsel’s fees can be recovered in a case that had been placed in the portal that subsequently settled for £70,000. THE CASE The claimant was…
I am grateful to Simon Fisher from DWF for providing me a copy of the judgment in Akers -v- Kirlkland [2019] EWHC 2176 (QB) Mr Justice Waksman discussed, in detail, the circumstances in which a judge should recuse themselves and…
The result of the judgment today in Mordel v Royal Berkshire NHS Foundation Trust [2019] EWHC 2591 (QB) has already been well publicised. A mother succeeded in her claim that the defendant trust was negligent in failing to check her…
This blog has reported on numerous cases where lay witnesses have attempted to give expert evidence (and, indeed, where expert witnesses have tried to give evidence of matters of fact). This issue can be seen in the judgment of Lord…
A party seeking to rely on expert evidence requires permission from the court. It is surprising how often the rule requiring the court to be provided with details of the cost of that expert is overlooked. “When parties apply for…
In Joan Angela Kember v (As Personal Representative of the Estate of Leonard John Kember, Deceased And On Her Own Behalf And On Behalf of His Dependants) [2019] EWHC 2297 (QB) Mrs Justice Lambert upheld a refusal to grant a…
In Ohpen Operations UK Ltd v Invesco Fund Managers Ltd [2019] EWHC 2504 (TCC) Mrs Justice O’Farrell carried out a summary assessment of costs. She also had something to say in relation to hourly rates. There is a succinct review…
In Walsh v Greystone Financial Services Ltd [2019] EWHC 2573 (Ch) Mr Justice Nugee had to decide whether it was the client or the solicitor who ended the retainer. THE CASE At the end of a trial at which the…
In Ford & Anor v Bennett & Anor [2019] EWCA Civ 1604 the Court of Appeal dismissed an appeal against a trial judge’s decision to award indemnity costs. The judgment contains a lesson to “additional parties” to litigation. “Parties who…
There is a short passage in Barrowfen Properties Ltd v Hambros Investments Ltd & Anor [2019] EWHC 2548 (Ch) where Chief Insolvency and Companies Court Judge Briggs makes it clear that an application had been given an inadequate time estimate….
This series looks at the question of when, if ever, it is appropriate for a solicitor to swear an affidavit or make a statement in place of the client? This issue was considered by Stanley Burnton J in Bracken Partners…
One other aspect of the decision in Addlesee & Ors v Dentons Europe LLP [2019] EWCA Civ 1600 that is worth looking at is the appeal in relation to costs. The Court of Appeal rejected the appellants argument that the…
LEGAL PROFESSIONAL PRIVILEGE PERSISTS AFTER DISSOLUTION OF A COMPANY: COURT OF APPEAL DECISION TODAY
In Addlesee & Ors v Dentons Europe LLP [2019] EWCA Civ 1600 the Court of Appeal held that legal professional privilege survives the dissolution of a limited company. THE CASE The claimants wanted to bring an action against a…
The need for a defendant to prove a failure to mitigate is something that has been covered before on this blog. In Natixis SA v Marex Financial & Ors [2019] EWHC 2549 (Comm) Mr Justice Bryan considered the legal principles. …
The Electronic Working Pilot Scheme in the Senior Courts Costs Office comes into force on the 7th October. There are some useful links on the working of the sceme. USEFUL LINKS A summary on the Courts and Tribunal Judiciary website …
Here I want to isolate one aspect of the judgment in AAA -v- Rakoff [2019] EWHC 2525 (QB) that was easy to miss amidst all the features of that case. The fact that the court can issue proceedings and hold onto…
In Sports Mantra India Private Ltd & Anor v Force India Formula One Team Ltd [2019] EWHC 2514 (Ch) Deputy High Court Judge Lance Ashworth QC considered the question of whether relief from sanctions should be granted when a Reply…
This year has been fairly sparse in relation to notable opening lines to judgments. It is indeed difficult to match up to Martinez (t/a Prick) & Anor v Prick Me Baby One More Time Ltd (t/a Prick) & Anor [2018] EWHC…
Part of the 109th update to the Civil Procedure Rules came into force today. A quick reminder that, from today, there is a change in the way that the courts approach the costs of the CCMC itself. INCURRED COSTS…
In Smith & Anor v Crawshay [2019] EWHC 2507 (Ch) HHJ Paul Matthews considered an argument that the defendant was allowed to rely on a witness summary. He also refused permission to adduce further evidence in evidence-in-chief from a witness…
I have been meaning to write more about anonymity and civil litigation, in particular orders made under CPR 16. This issue arose today in a surprising context in AAA -v- Rakoff [2019] EWHC 2525 (QB). The case raises issues in…
In Irish & Anor, Re [2019] EWHC 2508 (Ch) HHJ Matthews (sitting as a High Court Judge) used CPR 3.1 to cut down greatly the time (expense and anguish) in relation to a difficult and sensitive application. “it seemed to…
I am grateful to Tom Jenkinson from Bolt Burdon Kemp for letting me know that the Court of Appeal has granted permission to appeal in the case of XDE v North Middlesex University Hospital Trust [2019] EWHC 1482 (QB) XDE…
Every month I plan to provide links to useful articles and posts on civil procedure. I am happy for anyone to send me links that are relevant to the topics that this blog covers. (Links to posts does not constitute…
“Cashflow is the lifeblood of business”, is a common maxim. This applies in the legal profession as much as anywhere else. Interim payments on account of costs is an important issue for litigators and their clients. This was considered in…
Want to become a famous celebrity chef? Ishan Kolhatkar is editing a 2019 Billable Hour Cookbook. Contributions are being sought from lawyers across the profession (and indeed throughout the world) . If you have any recipes that you want to…
It is Legal Directories Time of year. Here I (re)print an easy guide on how to interpret a directory entry, kindly provided by law lecturer John Bates. Can I also refer you to Wigapedia’s Language of the legal directory decoded:…
The judgment today in AR & ML [2019] EWFC 56 is of considerable importance to all those who seek to “re-argue” a case after judgment rather than appeal. Mostyn J attempts to put an end to what he identified as…
In Kensington Mortgage Company Ltd v Mallon & Ors [2019] EWHC 2512 (Ch) Sir Gerald Barling, sitting as a Judge of the High Court, dismissed an appeal against a judge’s refusal to consider a point that was not pleaded. The…
In Gregory & Anor v Moore & Ors [2019] EWHC 2430 (Ch) Chief Master Marsh commented upon evidence served in response, but very late in the day. In the absence of an explanation in relation to late service the Master…
In Trainer v Cramer Pelmont (a firm) [2019] EWHC 2501 (QB) Mr Justice Walker examines the provisions of s14A of the Limitation Act in considerable detail. This is one of those judgments that is likely to be authoritative for years…
The judgment of HHJ Pearce in Neocleous & Anor v Rees [2019] EWHC 2462 (Ch) is not about procedure. However it is a judgment that many litigators must become familiar with. An automatically generated name at the end of an…
In the third post on the dangers of lawyers giving evidence we are looking at the judgment of Recorder Monty QC in Afia v Mellor & Anor [2013] EW Misc 23 (CC). The only witness called for the defendants was…
Constitutional lawyers will be writing about the Supreme Court decision today for decades to come. However I want to look at the more basic issue of the evidence that was placed before the courts. This was not a case…
The judgment and summary of the Supreme Court judgment today in Cherry -v- Advocate General for Scotland can be found here. … Enjoying this post? Become a Civil Litigation Brief member to read full articles and access all premium…
In the second post about the dangers of lawyers giving evidence we turn to the judgment of Master Marsh in Pineport Limited -v- Grangeglen Ltd [2016] EWHC 1318 (Ch). This was a relief from forfeiture hearing in which the only witness…
An earlier post reported on the dangers of lawyers giving evidence when that “evidence” is in fact a set of legal submissions. It is clear that this issue is not confined to one jurisdiction. This can be seen from the…
This is the first of a series of posts designed (to be frank) to remind people that the next edition of “Damages for Personal Injury and Death” will be published later this year. One interesting aspect of writing a book,…
“WHAT’S THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN A SKELETON ARGUMENT AND A WITNESS STATEMENT?” NOW THERE’S A QUESTION…
That very question “the difference between a skeleton argument and a witness statement” appeared in a search that led someone to this blog today. It may be worrying that someone has to ask. The important distinction is often ignored. Day…
In Canada Goose UK Retail Ltd v Persons Unknown & Anor [2019] EWHC 2459 (QB) Mr Justice Nicklin refused the claimants’ application for an injunction on several grounds. Here we look at the issues relating to service of the claim…
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