ASKING THE JUDGE QUESTIONS AFTER JUDGMENT IS DELIVERED: THEY HAVE TO BE NECESSARY TO ENABLE THE PARTIES TO UNDERSTAND THE REASONING OF THE DECISION (AND THESE GO TOO FAR…)
As you can see from the “Related Posts” section below this is not the first time we have considered the position where a losing litigant has written to the judge seeking “clarification” and where the judge has felt that this…
THE CURRENT IMPORTANCE OF PLEADINGS 83: THE CASE OF THE SOLICITOR’S LIEN: THE JUDGE SHOULD NOT HAVE DECIDED AN APPLICATION TO STRIKE OUT ON THE BASIS OF AN UNPLEADED CASE
We look at a case that relates to a solicitor’s lien and alleged breach of duty by those solicitors. It also deals with the basis upon which a judge should determine an application to strike out/summary judgment – making it…
AN APPLICATION TO SET A DEFAULT JUDGMENT ASIDE (3): THE DENTON CRITERIA CONSIDERED
An application to set aside a properly obtained default judgment requires the court to consider a number of factors. Having considered whether there are “real prospects” of successfully defending the claim and the issue of promptness the court then goes…
AN APPLICATION TO SET A DEFAULT JUDGMENT ASIDE (2): CONSIDERATION OF “PROMPTNESS” WHEN NOTHING HAPPENED FOR A YEAR…
We are continuing our examination of the High Court judgment yesterday about setting aside a default judgment. Here the judge considered the question of “promptness” in circumstances where the default judgment had been entered for a year before the application…
AN APPLICATION TO SET A DEFAULT JUDGMENT ASIDE (1): THE EVIDENCE AS TO THE MERITS: THE JUDGE SHOULD NOT HAVE CONDUCTED A “MINI TRIAL”
A defendant applying to set aside a properly obtained default judgment has a number of hurdles to clear. The court will consider the “merits” of the proposed defence, the reason for the delay, “promptness” and then go on to consider…
THE COURT OF APPEAL OVERTURNS A JUDICIAL REVIEW DECISION IN FAVOUR OF A SOLICITOR: THE OMBUDSMAN GOT NOTHING WRONG (QUITE A LOT HERE ABOUT VULNERABLE CLIENTS AS WELL…)
In a judgment today the Court of Appeal have overturned a High Court decision that was (partially) in favour of a solicitor who had sought judicial review of a decision of the Legal Ombudsman. The Court has restored the Ombudsman’s…
THE CURRENT IMPORTANCE OF PLEADINGS 82: THERE MAY BE A POTENTIALLY VIABLE CLAIM HERE BUT YOU HAVEN’T PLEADED IT: COURT OF APPEAL OVERTURN A DECISION TO GRANT PERMISSION TO AMEND COUNTERCLAIM
Here we have an unusual example of the Court of Appeal overturning a decision granting permission to amend a statement of case (in this case a counterclaim). The Court of Appeal held that the pleading did not give the information…
DESIGNATED CIVIL JUDGES SHOULD BE CAREFUL WHO IS GIVEN THE TASK OF TRYING COMPLEX TRIALS: COURT OF APPEAL MISSIVE TO DESIGNATED CIVIL JUDGES (& MANY OTHERS…)
Here we look at some comments made yesterday by the Court of Appeal. The court allowed an appeal by a defendant in a personal injury case. The case was heard by a Deputy District Judge. The court was clear that…
THE CURRENT IMPORTANCE OF PLEADINGS 81: IF YOU ARE RELYING ON A STATUTE THAT WASN’T ACTUALLY IN FORCE ON THE DATE IN QUESTION IT MAY HAVE BEEN BETTER FOR YOU TO HAVE PLEADED THIS…
Here we have an unusual case where the trial judge’s findings in favour of the defendant were overturned on appeal. One particular feature of this case is the fact that the claimant relied on a statute that was actually in…
ASSESSORS IN THE COURT OF APPEAL IN ADMIRALTY CASES: WHY WERE THEY NECESSARY? APPELLANTS MAY HAVE SUFFERED FROM THAT SINKING FEELING …
I don’t know if there are many shipping lawyers who read this site. Here we have a very niche part of a judgment in relation to Admiralty Court procedure. The appeal was originally adjourned because there appeared to be a…
COST BITES 401: COURT OF APPEAL OVERTURNS TRIAL JUDGE’S DECISION ON COSTS: THE COMPLICATIONS THAT OCCUR WHEN A COURT IS ASKED TO TAKE DISHONESTY INTO ACCOUNT WHEN MAKING AN AWARD OF COSTS…
Here the Court of Appeal grappled with some interesting issues when it overturned a trial judge’s decision to make no order for costs. The Court of Appeal stated that although the judge had been critical of the conduct of the…
COST BITES 400: MASTERCARD FUNDER FAILS IN THE JUDICIAL REVIEW OF ITS SHARE OF THE PROCEEDS : IT TURNS OUT THAT LITIGATION IS NOT PRICELESS
We have got to number 400 in this series. It is perhaps fitting we deal with (what may well be) the tail end of a mammoth case. Further it is a case where litigation funders felt that they had not…
“ADVOCACY – THE JUDGE’S VIEW”: SOME RECAPS BEFORE THE START OF A NEW SERIES: SERIES 1 REVIEWED: (AND WHY THIS IS RELEVANT TO EVERY LITIGATOR…)
We have had three series on advocacy on this site. They have all been from the viewpoint of judges. Looking at guidance given by judges throughout the world. The point being that judges are not your clients, but they are…
BACK TO BASICS MONDAY: THE DUTY TO SERVE A NOTICE OF APPEAL “AS SOON AS IS PRACTICABLE”
This post arises from the observations of the judge in a case we looked at last week. In essence it is not enough to simply issue a notice of appeal or an application notice. The rules require that you serve…
AN OFFER TO SETTLE THAT DOES NOT INCLUDE PROVISION FOR COSTS MAY WELL BE INEFFECTIVE: IT CERTAINLY WILL NOT LEAD TO A PETITION BEING STRUCK OUT: COURT OF APPEAL DECISION TODAY
Here we look at an argument that a petition should be struck out because the respondents had made a reasonable offer to resolve the issues between the parties. The Court of Appeal observed that the “reasonable offer” did not include…
COST BITES 395: A RETAINER WAS NOT A CONTENTIOUS BUSINESS AGREEMENT BECAUSE THE TERMS IN RELATION TO HOURLY RATES RENDERED IT TOO UNCERTAIN (COURT OF APPEAL DECISION YESTERDAY)
This appeal has been much discussed in the specialist press. A solicitor’s client argued that the terms of a retainer rendered in a Contentious Business Agreement. This would have given her greater scope to dispute the bills. The Court of…
A CLAIMANT’S SUCCESSFUL APPEAL IN A HOUSING DISREPAIR CLAIM: THE DISTRICT JUDGE WAS WRONG TO ALLOCATE THE MATTER TO THE SMALL CLAIMS TRACK…
I am grateful to Craig Leigh, for sending me a copy of this judgment in relation to an appeal about allocation in a housing disrepair case. It deals with important principles relating to the allocation of housing disrepair cases. The…
COST BITES 394: COURT OVERTURNS DECISION THAT A CLAIMANT LANDLORD IS ENTITLED TO RECOVER THE COSTS: AWARD OF INTEREST ALSO OVERTURNED
This is a case where a decision as to costs and interests was overturned on appeal. The Circuit Judge found that the claimant landlord had no entitlement to claim costs under the terms of the lease. Further the claim for…
RELIEF FROM SANCTIONS REFUSED: SOME DELAYS WERE UNEXPLAINED AND THERE WERE OTHER BREACHES OF THE RULES: SOME LESSONS ON COMPLIANCE HERE…
We are looking at an (unsuccessful) application for relief from sanctions in a family case. A husband sought permission to appeal some 10 1/2 months out of time. What is particularly interesting here are the judge accepted that some delay…
AN EASY MISTAKE TO MAKE: HOW A CRUCIAL TIME LIMIT FOR APPEALING WAS MISSED: MISLABELLING OF THE FILES: THIS WAS NOT A “MINOR ERROR…”
Here we look at how a simple mistake in the naming of a file led to a potentially disastrous problem when it led to an appeal being out of time. The wrong documents were sent to the court when an…
AN APPEAL OVER A TIME ESTIMATE FOR TRIAL: THIS SHOULD NOT LAST 15 DAYS, NOR WILL IT BE DONE IN 5: EIGHT DAYS REMAINS THE CORRECT CONCLUSION
This blog has covered issues relating to time estimates many times. I cannot recall, however, a case where there has been an appeal over a judicial determination of a time estimate for a trial. We have such a case here. …
BACK TO BASICS MONDAY: A LITIGANT CANNOT APPLY TO SET ASIDE A DECISION MADE WITHOUT A HEARING WHEN THEY SPECIFICALLY ASKED FOR THIS AND HAD THE OPPORTUNITY TO MAKE SUBMISSIONS
Here we look at a recent decision that has major practical implications for anyone making an application, or anyone disgruntled with a court decision. The applicant asked, specifically, for an application to be considered on paper. The matter was considered…
THE CURRENT IMPORTANCE OF PLEADINGS 79: COURT REJECTS CLAIMANT’S AMENDMENT APPLICATION BECAUSE THERE WERE “REASONABLY ARGUABLE” ISSUES IN RELATION TO LIMITATION
Here we continue the theme of today in looking at applications to amend. In this case the application was unsuccessful because it sought to raise issues that may be subject to a limitation defence. The judge rejected the argument that…
THE CURRENT IMPORTANCE OF PLEADINGS 78: CLAIMANT REFUSED PERMISSION TO AMEND PARTICULARS IN CLINICAL NEGLIGENCE/FATAL ACCIDENT CLAIM
The theme for today may well be unsuccessful applications to amend pleadings. Here we have what may be regarded as an “extreme” case. The claimant issued proceedings relying on medical evidence that actually contradicted the pleaded case. This was pointed…
PERSONAL INJURY POINTS 15: THE STUDENTS LOAN COMPANY MAY BE AN “EMANATION OF THE STATE”: SOME INTERESTING ISSUES HERE: THESE ARE ISSUES OF LAW – NOT ONE ON WHICH A WITNESS CAN EXPRESS AN OPINION OR VIEW…
The Court of Appeal considered some interesting issues in this case. Firstly in relation to the direct applicability of EC directives; secondly in relation to whether a particular body was an emanation of the state. It is not clear how…
SERVICE POINTS 44: LOCAL AUTHORITY FAILS TO SERVE PROPERLY ON INTERESTED PARTIES TO PROPOSED APPEAL: THE WHOLE APPEAL FAILS
Here we have another case of a failure to serve a claim form properly. This time a local authority failed to serve interested parties to an appeal because, rather than sending the claim forms to them personally, they were sent…
COST BITES 391: COURT OF APPEAL UPHOLDS DECISION THAT SOLICITOR’S BILL SHOULD BE ASSESSED AT “NIL”: THERE IS NO “RESTITUTIONARY” RIGHT TO DAMAGES WHERE THE CFA ITSELF MADE EXPRESS PROVISIONS FOR THESE CIRCUMSTANCES
I wrote about this case in August 2025 “Here we have a case that could well bring tears to the eyes of any litigator who works on a conditional fee basis. For the second time, on appeal, the claimant solicitor’s…
COST BITES 390: THE COURT OF APPEAL, “LATE” WITNESS STATEMENTS, THE COPPERS AND THE COSTS
We looked earlier at the Court of Appeal decision yesterday in relation to relief from sanctions. Here we look at the judgment in relation to the costs of the hearing below and of the appeal itself. As we shall see…
COST BITES 389: THE SRA IS LIABLE TO PAY THE COSTS OF AN APPEAL WHERE IT WAS THE ORIGINAL APPELLANT ITS POSITION IS “MORE AKIN TO THAT OF A NORMAL LITIGANT”
Here we consider an issue that has some relevance to the profession as a whole. Should the SRA be liable to pay the costs of an appeal from the SDT? In this case the SRA was the instigator of the…
WOULD BE APPELLANT FAILS TO COMPLY WITH SEVEN DAY DEADLINE: ARGUMENTS ABOUT “PUBLIC INTEREST” FAILS TO TAKE OFF: THE IMPORTANCE OF KNOWING TIME LIMITS…
Here we have a case where the “would be” appellant failed to obtain permission to appeal out of time. They failed to notice that the time limits for appealing this specific type of decision had been changed two months prior…
MAZUR MATTERS 62: THE REVISED COURT OF APPEAL JUDGMENT: SOME SMALL BUT SIGNIFICANT REVISIONS
There is a revised version of the Court of Appeal judgment in Mazur. Some paragraphs were amended slightly (but significantly). These amendments do not appeal to have made their way to the version of the judgment that is publicly available….
THE CURRENT IMPORTANCE OF PLEADINGS 76: APPLYING FOR PERMISSION TO AMEND THE DAY BEFORE THE COURT OF APPEAL HEARING, WITH NO NOTICE GIVEN: HAVE A GUESS HOW THIS WENT…
There have been quite a few cases about pleading recently. This case is interesting because it makes the point that after a default judgment is entered a claimant is only entitled to have damages assessed on the basis of their…
THE POSITION FOLLOWING DEATH OF A PARTY: THE FAMILY PROCEDURE RULES CANNOT “BORROW” PROVISIONS FROM THE CPR: APPEAL STRUCK OUT
This blog has looked, many times, at the problems caused by the death of a party during the course of litigation. Here we look at a problem that occurred in the Family Court. The fundamental point here is that the …
COST BITES 388: A COMPANY CANNOT CLAIM ITS OWN EMPLOYEE’S TIME AS LEGAL COSTS WHEN IT WAS REPRESENTED ON AN APPEAL
Here we have a reiteration of a long established principle as to costs. A company can only recover legal costs on an assessment, not the costs of being a litigant. Here the appellant sought to recover both. The Costs Judge…
COST BITES 387: THERE IS NO PRESUMPTION THAT THERE MUST BE A DETAILED ASSESSMENT WHERE A CASE LASTS MORE THAN ONE DAY: JUDGE SUMMARILY ASSESSES COSTS AFTER A THREE DAY HEARING
Here we have a case where there was an argument whether there should be a summary or detailed assessment. The judge made it clear that there is no presumption against summary assessment simply because a hearing lasted more than one…
THE DEFENDANT’S ACCEPTANCE OF A PART 36 OFFER FROM THE CLAIMANT DID NOT PREVENT A SECOND ACTION IN RELATION TO A DIFFERENT (BUT RELATED) ISSUE
This is a case where the Court of Appeal allowed an appeal (in part) in relation to the striking out of a “second” action between the parties. The Court held that part of the second action was not an abuse…
COST BITES 384: THE LOSER OF AN APPLICATION USUALLY PAYS AND THERE HAS TO BE A GOOD REASON IF THEY DON’T: APPEAL COURT OVERTURNS A DECISION TO THE CONTRARY
Here we have an unusual case where, on appeal, a costs decision in favour of a defendant was overturned on the basis that that there was no good reason not to apply the normal principle that “the loser pays”. “There…
FILING A NOTICE OF APPEAL OUT OF TIME: A TALE OF THREE CITIES: RELIEF FROM SANCTIONS GRANTED WHEN THE APPEAL WAS LATE BUT THE SOLICITORS “DID NOTHING WRONG AT ALL”
In this case the judge granted permission to appeal when the appeal notice was lodged 25 days out of time. Not only is this an example of the court using its discretion under Denton and taking into accounts issues with…
THE CURRENT IMPORTANCE OF PLEADINGS 68: COURT OF APPEAL HOLDS THAT THE JUDGE SHOULD NOT HAVE ALLOWED AMENDMENTS: THE PLEADINGS WERE “INCOHERENT, SELF-CONTRADICTORY AND INSUFFICIENTLY PARTICULARISED”
Here we have a rare case where the Court of Appeal overturns a decision of the first instance judge to allow a party to amend their pleadings. There is a detailed analysis of why the proposed amendments were deficient. “I…
THE COSTS LIABILITY OF A REPRESENTATIVE OF A DECEASED PERSON UNDER CPR 19.12 CONSIDERED: THE SITUATION IS NOT THE SAME AS AN ADMINISTRATOR OR EXECUTOR
This case considers the costs liability of a person appointed under CPR 19.12 to represent a deceased person. The court made it clear that such an appointment is not directly analogous to that of an administrator or executor. Different costs…
IS AN APPLICATION VALID IF THE INCORRECT COURT FEE IS PAID? THE ISSUES CONSIDERED…
We have had a flurry of cases recently about the consequences of failing to pay the correct fee when issuing proceedings. Here we have a case where the court considers the implications of a failure to pay the correct fee…
WHAT TO DO IF THE DEFENDANT MAKES AN EARLY PART 36 OFFER: WEBINAR 29th APRIL 2026
The Court of Appeal’s recent decision in Attersley v UK Insurance Ltd [2026] EWCA Civ 217 has sharpened the costs risks faced by claimants who accept a Part 36 offer outside the relevant period. While a claimant who accepts late…
COST BITES 379: HIGH COURT JUDGE UPHOLDS DECISION THAT INTERIM BILLS WERE STATUTE BILLS AND THAT THE CLAIMANT COULD NOT SEEK ASSESSMENT OUT OF TIME
This decision is important for two reasons. Firstly it upholds the original judgment that the interim bills in this case were statute bills and that there were no special circumstances to allow assessment out of time. Secondly it highlights the…
SERVICE POINTS 35: HOT OFF THE PRESS: THE HIGH COURT UPHOLDS INITIAL FINDING THAT AN ELECTRONICALLY ISSUED AND SUBSQUENTLY AMENDED CLAIM FORM DOES NOT HAVE TO BE RE-SEALED PRIOR TO SERVICE
The cases on service of the claim form continue to flow. Here the defendant appealed a decision that it was not necessary for a claimant to serve a sealed copy of an amended claim form. As we shall see the…
AN APPEAL WAS LODGED IN TIME: SOMETIMES THE COURT DOES NOT HELP – BUT HINDER: “I HAVE CONCLUDED THAT THE COURT THWARTED THE LITIGANT’S PROPER AND REASONABLE ATTEMPT TO BRING THE APPEAL IN TIME”
Here we have a case where an important time limit was, on the face of it missed, because the court itself “thwarted” genuine attempts to lodge an appeal in time. It is an object lesson the care that needs to…
MAZUR MATTERS 61: A COMPARISON OF THE LAW SOCIETY GUIDANCE BEFORE AND AFTER THE COURT OF APPEAL DECISION
The Revised Law Society Guidance on Mazur was looked at in a previous post. Whilst we wait for the SRA Guidance it may be useful to look at the key differences in the Law Society Guidance before and after the…
MAZUR IN THE COURT OF APPEAL: WEBINAR WITH CHECKLISTS: NOW AVAILABLE “ON DEMAND”
If you could not attend the webinar on the practical implications of the Court of Appeal decision in Mazur yesterday it is now available “on demand”. The Mazur decision confirms that authorised individuals may delegate tasks within the conduct of…
SETTING ASIDE DEFAULT JUDGMENT: THE RELEVANCE OF DELAY AND THE DENTON PRINCIPLES CONSIDERED IN THE HIGH COURT
For many years now we have been looking at the interaction between an application to set aside a default judgment and the “Denton” criteria. Here we look at another case where the court considered relief from sanctions in this context. …
THE JUDGE FOUND AGAINST ME BECAUSE THEY GAVE TOO MUCH LEEWAY TO A LITIGANT IN PERSON : ALLEGATIONS OF THIS KIND SHOULD BE PARTICULARISED (AND CAREFULLY THOUGHT OUT)
Here we consider some unusual grounds of appeal. An unsuccessful claimant appealed on the grounds, inter alia, that the judge had erred in giving leeway to the defendant who was a litigant in person. What is important here is that…
MAZUR MATTERS 57: THE INDEMNITY INSURER’S VIEW: “DOES IT CHANGE THAT MUCH REALLY?”: “I STRUGGLE TO THINK OF REAL LIFE SCENARIOS THAT WOULD HAVE FALLEN FOUL OF SHELDON J’S DISTINCTION BUT ARE NOW LAWFUL (AND VICE VERSA)”
I have written several times that when it came to providing practical guidance on how to deal with the Mazur judgment it was often insurers that were far more helpful than the regulators. It is worthwhile having a look at…
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