Lord Justice Coulson used the judgment in Wheeldon Brothers Waste Ltd v Millennium Insurance Company Ltd [2018] EWCA Civ 2403 to remind (some) litigators of some key principles in relation to appeals on findings of fact. He emphasised that the Technology…
In Bank St Petersburg PJSC & Anor v Arkhangelsky & Ors [2018] EWHC 2817 (Ch) Mr Justice Hildyard considered the appropriate costs order after a lengthy trial. THE CASE There has been a lengthy trial (between February – July 2016) where…
In Kay, R (On the Application Of) v Scan-Thors (UK) Ltd & Anor (Costs) [2018] EWHC 2842 (Admin) the Divisional Court dealt robustly with arguments made by an interested party attempting to resist an order for costs. “Put bluntly, these submissions…
Last year we looked at those things that caused litigators stress and fear. This year we are looking at annoying things from “the other side”. That can mean from beyond the grave, or those people who are instructed to represent…
The final paragraphs of the judgment in Anderson & Ors v Sense Network Ltd [2018] EWHC 2834 shows that some of the claimants in that case were unable to establish their losses. Indeed two of the claimants may have suffered no…
The judgment in AIG Europe Ltd & Anor, Re [2018] EWHC 2818 (Ch) has already been the subject of some consternation, starting as it does with the words ” This case concerns the reorganisation of a major insurance company to prepare…
In Devoy-Williams -v- High Cartwright & Amin [2018] EWHC 2815 (Ch) Mrs Justice Falk upheld a decision that an action was struck out and that relief from sanctions should not be granted. It is a reminder (amongst other things) of…
In Lyons v Fox Williams LLP [2018] EWCA Civ 2347 the Court of Appeal turned down the claimant’s appeal. The claimant had been unsuccessful in an action for professional negligence against a firm of solicitors. He was equally unsuccessful on appeal….
This week the teams were involved in selling goods and services at a bodybuilding expo in Birmingham. Our two lawyers are on the same team and this week it was the winning team. Lawyers and bodybuilding, it seems, are a…
There have been numerous cases in which parties have attempted to give expert evidence in witness statements. Another example can be seen in the decision in New Media Distribution Company Sezc Ltd v Kagalovsky [2018] EWHC 2742 (Ch). An attempt to…
In the judgment today in The Catholic Child Welfare Society (Diocese of Middlesbrough) & Ors v CD [2018] EWCA Civ 2342 the Court of Appeal allowed an appeal against a claimant being successful in a Section 33 application. There is an…
In Sberbank of Russia v The OJSC International Bank of Azerbaijan [2018] EWHC 2777 (Comm)Mr Justice Bryan had to consider whether to adjourn a case management conference pending appeals in other cases. The judge considered the overriding objective and held that…
COSTS IN AN ESTATE CLAIM: REFUSAL TO ENGAGE IN MEDIATION WAS A FACTOR TO BE TAKEN INTO CONSIDERATION
I am grateful to barrister James Miller for sending me a copy of the decision of HHJ Truman in Nicholls -v- Nicholls (19th June 2018), available here NICH19062018APP. The judgment is solely concerned with costs in relation to an action…
In SJ Moore (Jeweller) Limited -v- Squibb Group Limited [2018] EWHC 2731 (QB) Denton principles were considered and applied when the defendant wanted to adduce new evidence. What is notable here is the fact that the defendant had the expert…
In Hosking & Anor v Apax Partners LLP & Ors [2018] EWHC 2732 (Ch) Mr Justice Hildyard awarded indemnity costs in a case where the claimant discontinued four days into a six week trial. “My assessment is that this was high-risk…
The Intellectual Property Enterprise Court (IPEC) guards its fixed costs regime very jealously. Prior to the decision in Link Up Mitaka Ltd (t/a Thebigword) v Language Empire Ltd & Anor [2018] EWHC 2728 there appears to have only been one previous…
In Solicitors Regulation Authority v Day & Ors [2018] EWHC 2726 the Divisional Court rejected the SRA’s appeal against a decision of the Solicitors’ Disciplinary Tribunal. There are some interesting comments about the number of documents and the length of skeleton’s…
This week the teams were making and selling doughnuts. Our lawyers were on the losing team but both survive in the series for a further week. This is not surprising, there is a long history of lawyers, law and doughnuts….
This blog has, on many occasions, warned about the dangers posed by “different” limitation periods. This danger can be seen in the decision of the Supreme Court today in Warner v Scapa Flow Charters (Scotland) [2018] UKSC 52. I must emphasise…
In the judgment today in Grant v Dawn Meats (UK) [2018] EWCA Civ 2212 the Court of Appeal held that an order staying an action also imposed a stay on the obligation to serve the claim form. The claim form was…
I am grateful to barrister Adam Heppinstall for sending me a copy of the judgment of Mr Justice Fraser today in Bates -v- The Post Office [2018] EWHC 2968 (QB). This is a forceful judgment and what the judge had…
In the judgment today in Page v RGC Restaurants Ltd [2018] EWHC 2688 (QB) Mr Justice Walker allowed an appeal in relation to the sanctions imposed when a claimant failed to file an costs budget that complied with the rules. The…
In Lomax & Ors v Greenslade [2018] EWHC 2623 (Ch) Mr Justice Henry Carr refused to set aside a judgment obtained after the defendant failed to attend trial. There was a major mistake on the part of the court, however the…
There is an interesting piece of case management in the judgment of Recorder Andrew Singer QC (sitting as a Judge of the Technology and Construction Court) in Ealing Care Alliance Ltd v London Borough of Ealing [2018] EWHC 2630 (TCC). …
The judgment in Liverpool Victoria Insurance Company Ltd v Khan & Ors [2018] EWHC 2581 (QB) was looked at earlier. It made the point that “reckless” reporting by experts can lead to experts being in contempt of court. This led me to…
In EUI Ltd v Charles & Ors [2018] EW Misc B7 (CC) HHJ Robert Harrison made an order that claimants give pre-action disclosure of documents relevant to the issue of impecuniosity. The practical consequences of this decision could be enormous. Given…
In Liverpool Victoria Insurance Company Ltd v Khan & Ors [2018] EWHC 2581 (QB) Mr Justice Garnham found a solicitor and a doctor in contempt of court. The solicitor was imprisoned for 12 months, the doctor given a six month sentence,…
In Moylett v Geldof & Anor [2018] EWHC 893 (Ch) Mr Justice Carr considered some aspects relating to the admissibility of expert evidence. Statements of others included in a report are not expert evidence, however the inclusion of those statements did…
The judgment today in M&P Enterprises (London) Ltd v Norfolk Square (Northern Section) Ltd [2018] EWHC 2665 (Ch) makes interesting reading. The appeal concerned criticisms of the conduct of a trial by a circuit judge. The main difficulty was that the…
In Bentley Design Consultants Ltd v Sansom [2018] EWHC 2238 (TCC) Mrs Justice Jefford DBE considered a novel point on the construction of a Part 36 offer. She held that a Part 36 offer made by a claimant could not be…
Sometimes (I suspect more often than we are willing to concede) it is not the best side that wins, it is the least worst side that doesn’t lose. That is the lesson to take away from this week’s apprentice. Our…
There are three cases today about the implications of witnesses not attending trial. This was an issue in Asante v Guy’s and St Thomas’ NHS Foundation Trust [2018] EWHC 2570 (QB). The absence of key witnesses from the defendant led…
For World Mental Health Day I am re-posting posts on this blog that deal with stress, for litigators and those involved in the litigation process. Part of my work, dealing with relief from sanctions and limitation, means I come across…
In Yuchai Dongte Special Purpose Automobile Company Ltd v Suisse Credit Capital (2009) Ltd [2018] EWHC 2580 (Comm) Christopher Hancock QC (sitting as a Deputy High Court Judge) stated that he could and would draw adverse inferences when a decision was…
This is the first of two posts today in relation to witnesses not attending to be cross-examined. In EC Medica Group UK Ltd & Ors v Dearnley-Davison & Ors [2018] EWHC 1952 (Ch) Kelyn Bacon QC (sitting as a Deputy High…
The Supreme Court decision today in Darnley -v- Croydon Health Service NHS Trust [2018]UKSC 50 marks a development in the law of negligence, and also in relation to proving causation. “Far from constituting a break in the chain of causation,…
In refusing permission to appeal in Kimathi & Ors v Foreign & Commonwealth Office [2018] EWCA Civ 2213 the Court of Appeal emphasised the difficulty involved in appealing a discretionary decision made under Section 33 of the Limitation Act 1980. “The…
In Conversant Wireless Licensing SARL v Huawei Technologies Co. Ltd & Ors [2018] EWHC 2549 (Ch) Mr Justice Henry Carr had to consider the appropriate order to make when the parties had agreed the terms of an application but could not…
I am grateful to my colleague Robin Dunne for sending me a copy of the decision of HHJ Auerbach in Reynolds -v- One Stop Limited (21st September 2018). A copy of the judgment is available A79YM916 Reynolds v One Stop…
In Hanley v J C & A Solicitors [2018] EWHC 2592 (QB) Mr Justice Soole decided that the court did not have inherent power to compel solicitors to hand over copies of documents to their former clients. THE CASE Three claimants…
On the 6th December I am presenting a webinar “Avoiding Procedural Pitfalls and Putting Them Right”. The aim is to look at the key problem areas of civil procedure, how to avoid problems and how to rectify problems if things…
The judgment in Welsh v Walsall Healthcare NHS Trust (Costs) [2018] EWHC 2491 (QB) is one of those “cut out and keep” judgments in that it contains a useful precis of all the relevant rules and principles relating to issue based…
It can be said that the clue here is in the name of the case – London Borough of Hounslow v A Father & Mother (Costs in the Court of Protection – Disproportionate litigation) [2018] EWCOP 23. This is a…
In Culliford & Anor v Thorpe [2018] EWHC 2532 (Ch) HH Paul Matthews (sitting as a High Court judge) held that it was possible for the court to make an order for an interim payment of costs after the date on…
In Danilina v Chernukhin & Ors [2018] EWHC 2503 (Comm) Mr Justice Teare was critical of the quality of the evidence that the respondent adduced in response to an application for security for costs. THE CASE The defendants sought an…
I am glad to report that both lawyer and law student survived the first round of the Apprentice. They were not, it has to be said, not at the forefront of the programme. There was no sign of “laying down…
There is a footnote to the judgment of Master Leonard yesterday in Allen v Brethertons LLP [2018] EWHC B15 (Costs) that is worth reading for anyone involved in costs litigation. “Ms Moore, when acting as a Costs Lawyer with a right…
On the 7th November 2018 I am presenting a webinar for APIL on issues in relation to limitation in personal injury case. It looks at the most common causes of difficulty with limitation periods, avoiding problems with limitation and then…
In Livewest Homes Ltd v Bamber [2018] EWHC 2454 (QB) Mr Justice Dingemans considered the issue of relief from sanctions when a Respondent’s Notice was served late. It is a useful reminder of the importance of serving a respondent’s notice and…
This year sees a litigation lawyer featuring as a candidate in the Apprentice, together with a law graduate. Is there anything we litigators can learn from seeing lawyers on the apprentice? After a challenge was issued I decided to follow…
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