COURT CANNOT RE-OPEN "FINAL JUDGMENT": ISSUES RELATING TO DEFENDANT'S CAPACITY: EVESHAM –v- WERRETT CONSIDERED
In the judgment today in Eversham & Pershore Housing Association Ltd -v- Werrett [2015] EWHC 1060 (QB) Mr Justice Nicol held that the court could not re-open a decision because of later evidence in relation to the defendant’s capacity. THE…
WITNESS STATEMENTS AND AVOIDING JAIL: ARE YOU PROTECTING YOUR CLIENTS AND PROTECTING YOURSELF?
In the recent case of Hughmans -v- Dunhill [2015] EWHC 716 (Ch) an interesting point arose about the drafting of a witness statement when a (former) client alleged that it had largely been drafted by her (former) solicitor. The assertion…
THE "URGENT NEED FOR COMMERCIAL PRACTITIONERS TO BRING A SENSE OF PROPORTION" TO LITIGATION: EVIDENCE NEEDED IN WHEN ARGUING SECURITY FOR COSTS "STIFLES" AN ACTION.
In Kazakhstan Kagazy Plc -v- Baglan Zhunus [2015] EWHC 996 Mr Justice Walker had strong words to say, and constructive guidance to give, in relation to some aspects of commercial litigation. The case further serves as a reminder of the…
WITNESS STATEMENTS, EXHIBITS AND NOT MAKING AN EXHIBITION OF YOURSELF: THE OFTEN IGNORED RULES ABOUT EXHIBITS TO WITNESS STATEMENTS
Your life will not be complete unless you have read a post about exhibits to witness statements. The “exhibiting” of documents is common. It is surprising how common it is for the exhibit, and the witness statement, to fail to…
PLEADING, PARTICULARITY, SUMMARY JUDGMENT AND STRIKING OUT: WAIT UNTIL AFTER DISCLOSURE
In Dellal -v- Dellal [2015] EWHC 907 (Fam) Mr Justice Mostyn made some important observations about the need for particularity in pleading THE CASE The claimant was bringing an action under the Inheritance (Provision for Family and Dependants) Act 1975…
CHANGES TO THE PRE-ACTION PROTOCOLS THAT WE KNOW ABOUT: LOW VALUE ROAD TRAFFIC ACCIDENTS
Important changes have been made to the Pre-Action Protocols which came into force yesterday. At the moment the whereabout of the the Protocols is a mystery in that they have not been published generally. However there are some changes to…
FATAL ACCIDENT AND FATAL PLEADINGS: THE NEED TO PLEAD AND PROVE FOREIGN LAW
On the face of it the case of Bianco -v- Bennett [2015] EWHC 626 (QB) is simply a case about fatal accidents. I was going to discuss it solely on the Fatal Accident Blog. On close reading, however, it reveals…
LAY EVIDENCE AND EXPERT EVIDENCE IN CLINICAL NEGLIGENCE: MORE IS NOT ALWAYS BETTER
In Wake -v- Johnson [2015] EWHC 276(QB) HH Judge Collender QC (Sitting as Judge of the High Court) conducted a critical analysis of the lay evidence and expert evidence when dismissing a clinical negligence claim against a GP. There are…
TROUBLESOME BUNDLES YET AGAIN: MR JUSTICE EDER SPEAKS OUT ON WASTEFUL BUNDLES IN THE COMMERCIAL COURT
The question of bundles was raised by Mr Justice Eder in Taberna Europe -v- Selskabet [2015] EWHC 871 (Comm). This is hardly a new complaint and appears across the board in all jurisdictions. (There are now 16 posts on this…
WHY YOUR WITNESS STATEMENTS SHOULD BE MADE IN CHELSEA: MAKING FIRST HAND STATEMENTS AVOIDS PENALTIES
The post earlier this week in relation to the need for full disclosure on without notice injunctions also highlighted the need for first hand evidence. There are real dangers when a solicitor signs a witness statement. That principle was highlighted…
SOLICITOR FOUND TO HAVE DELIBERATELY MISLED THE COURT: BOREH -v- DJIBOUTI
In Boreh -v- Republic of Djibouti [2015] EWHC 769 (Comm) Mr Justice Flaux made a clear and unequivocal finding that a solicitor had deliberately misled the court. This led to the setting aside of the injunction that the clients had…
DECIDING CASES ON PAPER: WOODLANDS, EVIDENCE & DECIDING CASES "ONLINE"
The decision in Woodland -v- Maxwell looked at in an earlier blog is interesting because it is one of the rare cases where the Court of Appeal carried out a (brief) analysis of the evidence in the case more than…
WITHDRAWING FROM ADMISSIONS, MISTAKES AND THE DENTON PRINCIPLES
There is a report on Lawtel of the decision of Judge Bidder QC in Moore -v- Worcestershire Acute Hospitals NHS Trust [12/02/15].* This case demonstrates some of the difficult issues in relation to the law of withdrawing from admissions. THE…
THE MITCHELL JUDGMENT 3: WHY MR MITCHELL WASN'T TELLING LIES AND P.C. ROWLAND WAS TELLING THE TRUTH
This blog has looked at the fact finding process in the Mitchell judgment several times already. Here I want to look at the issue of the “truth”. This is an issue that has wider implications for those involved in the…
INDEMNITY COSTS, COSTS BUDGETING AND WITNESS STATEMENTS:INTERVIEW ON KELLIE -v- LLOYD
There is a feature on the Lexis Nexis Dispute Resolution Blog where I answer questions about the implications of the judgment in Kellie and another v Wheatley & Lloyd Architects Ltd [2014] EWHC 2886 (TCC), [2014] All ER (D) 152 (Aug)…
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