I have written before about the invaluable resource provided by The Denton Resource. This has now been updated and is available following the link here. Congratulations to barrister Rachel Segal who took on this painstaking task. The Resource is a…
The judgment in Slade (t/a Richard Slade And Co) v Abbhi [2018] EWHC 2039 (Comm) (24 September 2018) illustrates another risk of litigation. The risk of a witness giving a wholly new account whilst giving evidence at trial. THE CASE The…
I am repeating something that has appeared in this blog twice already. However it is a topic that that has featured in recent legal discussions on Twitter. That is the use of your own client’s home insurance policy to recover damages…
I am grateful to David Gauler of Thompsons, solicitors, for sending me a copy of the judgment of Mr Justice Soole in Lewis -v- Tinsdale & the Motor Insurers Bureau [2018] EWHC 2376 (QB), a copy of which is available…
Another matter being dealt with at the forthcoming courses on fatal accidents is where you can send a client for help. Again this is an issue that covers a wide range of lawyers. As a companion to the first piece…
I am in the midst of preparing the APIL course on Fatal Accidents along with solicitor Hilary Wetherell. The useful thing about working with other people is that you get good ideas. In developing the course, and alongside learning about…
There is much written about the process of costs budgeting. There is much to be said, when preparing for a hearing – and often at the hearing itself, looking at the Practice Direction and Guidance Notes. THE PRACTICE DIRECTION The…
In the third (and I suspect not the last) I want to set out a series of tweets which arose from the earlier posts on this topic. There were a series of tweets about the problems caused by courts losing…
Earlier posts have looked at the concept of “litigation risks”. This is something we are all aware of as practising lawyers. We advise on those risks on a daily basis. However very little is written about this. This is the…
Yesterday I did a short post on court errors. I have been given permission to post another one. Again I will let the facts speak for themselves. A series of tweets from Mairead @m417ead 10 repeated with their permission. A SAD SAGA Trial 1…
A post earlier this week emphasised the need not to make pejorative statements in litigation, an American judge stated “the better practice is usually to lay out the facts and let the court reach its own conclusions.” That is all…
I am grateful to barrister Andrew Lyons for sending me a copy of the judgment of HHJ Freedman in Ketchion -v- McEwan (28th June 2018), a copy of which is available here, 1061737_Ketchion v McEwan_Judgment for Approval_26 6 18. It is…
In Portland Stone Firms Ltd & Ors v Barclays Bank Plc & Ors [2018] EWHC 2341 (QB) Mr Justice Stuart-Smith had some telling observations about the way in which statements of case should be drafted. “The applications before the Court have…
This blog has looked at issues relating to written submissions many times. Included in this has been the need to avoid hyperbole, which often backfires. A good example, borrowed from the United States, is the judgment in Bennett -v- Start…
I am grateful to Graham Hain for pointing out the decision of the Upper Tribunal (Lands) Chamber in Gardiner & Theobald LLP v Jackson (VO) (RATING – procedure) [2018] UKUT 253 (LC). This specifically relates to experts in the Lands Chamber,…
The bookshops appear to be awash with books by lawyers, fiction and non-fiction. Virtually all of these are by criminal lawyers. We civil lawyers clearly have far less interesting stories to tell. When I was sent “Under the Wig” by…
In Playboy Club London Ltd v Banca Nazionale Del Lavoro Spa [2018] EWCA Civ 2025 the Court of Appeal overturned a ruling that an action in deceit was an abuse of process. The claimant’s action in negligence failed because there was…
In Hague v British Telcommunications Plc (Immunotherapy : Reasonableness of Treatment : Private Dictionary Principle) [2018] EWHC 2227 (QB) Master Thornett had to construe the terms of a consent order. It is a case that emphasises the importance of attendance notes. …
In the 10th post in this series I looked at the importance of serving a notice of non-admittance of the authenticity of documents promptly. Here we look at the basics of the rule. Put bluntly if you do not serve…
The Denton principles are considered in detail in the judgment of Edward Murray (sitting as a High Court Judge) in Sabesan v London Borough of Waltham Forest [2018] EWHC 2373 (Admin). The judgment confirms that the Denton principles are applicable to…
A recent decision by the Bar Standards Board held that a barrister had not acted with reasonable competence when he failed to inform his client in relation to the risks of bringing a private prosecution. This decision highlights the need…
The judgment of HHJ Neil Bidder QC in Tenon FM Ltd v Cawley & Ors [2018] EWHC 1972 (QB) shows a failure by a claimant to prove the most basic of issues. The claimant could not establish that a defendant had…
There has been much recent comment on the “success” (or otherwise) of the electronic bill of costs. This is a guide time to update the links to commentary and guidance on the process. RECENT COMMENTARY The New Law Journal…
The judgment in Autogas (Europe) Ltd v Ochocki & Ors [2018] EWHC 2345 (Ch) highlights the difficulties for a claimant who has to prove fraud as an essential element of their claim. The judgment also emphasises the needs to plead allegations…
In Caribonum Pension Trustee Ltd & Anor v Pelikan Hardcopy Production AG [2018] EWHC 2321 (Ch) Master Clark rejected an argument that the fact that a defendant was never going to be able to pay a judgment meant that the action…
In Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC & Anor v WPMC Ltd & Anor [2018] EWCA Civ 2005 the Court of Appeal overturned a ruling that a director of a company should pay pay a company’s costs. The absence of warning was a…
The judgment of Deputy Master Pickering in Billington v Davies & Anor [2016] EWHC 1919 (Ch) has only recently appeared on BAILLI. It raises an interesting issue of how the courts should approach the question of a late application to extend…
The judgment of Master Fontaine in The VW NOx Emissions Group Litigation [2018] EWHC 2308 (QB) is a warning to any litigator thinking of applying for a Group Litigation Order (“GLO”). The rule is clear basically – get your case in…
Every litigator, indeed every living being, has problems with procrastination. In civil litigation this can lead to major problems and is, if truth be known, responsible for a large number of procedural issues. Here we look at practical solutions to…
Many civil cases turn on witness credibility, yet very little training and education is given to lawyers about assessing credibility. Every litigator has to be able to make an assessment of this when taking a case on; before issuing proceedings…
I am grateful to Anthony Okuma of Duncan Lewis solicitors to for sending me a copy of the judgment of HHJ Richard Roberts in Sajid -v- Nuur (Central London County court 30/7/18). This covers two separate issues. Firstly a claimant’s…
AN EXPERT’S IMPARTIALITY CAN ONLY BE STRETCHED SO FAR: THE COURTS HAVE SAID THIS TYNE AND TYNE AGAIN
I am grateful to barrister Charles Holland for sending me a copy of the decision of District Judge Meek in Endless Stretch -v- Newcastle County Council. A copy can be found in the link on this page. This case is…
In London Borough of Lambeth v MCS & Anor [2018] EWCOP 20 Mr Justice Newton did not follow the normal practice in Court of Protection cases. He ordered costs to be paid against the Local Authority and the Lambeth Commissioning Group….
In Swift v Carpenter [2018] EWHC 2060 (QB) Mrs Justice Lambert gave a lengthy judgment in a high value personal injury case. One interesting aspect of that case is the problems caused by the defendant’s expert evidence on care. An additional…
August 31st is Love Litigating Lawyers Day. In America it has been celebrated widely (well there was a lot of comment on Twitter). Clearly this is clearly something that every sensible reader of this blog wants to encourage. THE…
In BAE Systems Pension Funds Trustees Ltd v Bowmer & Kirkland Ltd [2018] EWHC 1222 (TCC) Mrs Justice Jefford refused the claimant’s application for an order that it should not have to pay the costs of a defendant it discontinued against. …
There is a short passage in the judgment today of Master Clark in Massimo Osti SRL v Global Design And Innovation Ltd & Anor [2018] EWHC 2263 (Ch) that provides an important reminder of the relevant principles that apply when a…
We are looking, for the second time, at the Court of Appeal decision yesterday in Manzi -v- King’s College NHS Foundation Trust [2018] EWCA Civ 1882. That part of the judgment that deals with findings of fact at trial and appeals against…
I am grateful to barrister Luka Krsljanin for sending me a copy of hte Court of Appeal decision today in Manzi -v- King’s College NHS Foundation Trust [2018] EWCA Civ 1882. The Court rejected an argument that the trial judge…
In Jahangiri v St. George’s University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust [2018] EWHC 2278 (QB) Mr Justice Nicklin observed that witness evidence put forward by the defendant was far from adequate. “The Court is best assisted when the evidence of someone who…
There is a section in the Court of Appeal judgment in James v James [2018] EWCA Civ 1982 that is of some importance. It relates to the question of whether a party should appeal an order for contempt or apply to…
A Twitter conversation this morning came up with the old chestnut of court staff informing a solicitor that the court fee to be paid on a Part 8 application for approval was identical to that on a Part 7 claim. …
We are looking for the third (and final) time at the judgment in Kassam -v- Gill (13th August 2018, County Court at Birmingham available on Lawtel). The judge considered the meaning of “conduct of litigation” as defined by the Legal Services Act…
I am looking again at the judgment in Kassam -v- Gill (13th August 2018, County Court at Birmingham available on Lawtel). Here we look at the crucial question of who signed the statement of truth. A difficult concept when a claim form…
Recent online discussions about skeleton arguments started with a search term that led to this blog “how long should a skeleton argument be?” This was probably a good time to provide a review highlighting all the posts about skeleton arguments…
The judgment of HHJ Worster In Kassam -v- Gill (13th August 2018, County Court at Birmingham) is available on Lawtel. There are several procedural aspects of that case that are of general interest and which I will look at over…
We looked at the case of Kavak v FMC – HHJ Pearce Manchester CC 24.04.18) in an earlier post, primarily in the context of re-allocation. However that case provides a clear illustration of a failure to prove a basic element of…
In the judgment today in LXA & Anor v Willcox [2018] EWHC 2256 (QB) His Honour Judge Robinson (sitting as a Judge of the High Court) had to consider two issues: (i) the appropriate role of the judge when a…
I am grateful to Michael Cordeux from Plexus Law for sending me a copy of the decision of His Honour JudgePearce, sitting in the Manchester County Court, on the 9th April 2018. It is an example of how a case…
There is another aspect of the judgment in Phoenix Healthcare Distribution Ltd v Woodward & Anor [2018] EWHC 2152 (Ch) that needs highlighting. The lesson here is clear: you cannot delay service of the claim form on the grounds that you…
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