DEFENDANT FAILS TO GIVE FULL DISCLOSURE: PEREMPTORY ORDER MADE AND BREACHED: APPLICATION FOR RELIEF FROM SANCTIONS FAILED: APPEAL UNSUCCESSFUL
In Winchester Park Ltd v 1 Palace Gate Freehold Ltd [2024] EWHC 661 (Ch) Mr Justice Adam Johnson dismissed a defendant’s appeal on the issue of relief from sanctions. He held that the judge below was entitled to refuse to…
SERVICE OF THE CLAIM FORM: GOOD NEWS FOR THE CLAIMANT (FOR A CHANGE)
NB – THIS DECISION WAS OVERTURNED ON APPEAL – SEE Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities v Rogers [2024] EWCA Civ 1554 In Rogers v Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities & Anor [2023]…
THE OFFERS WERE NOT PART 36 OFFERS: COURT COULD DETERMINE COSTS OF A PRELIMINARY TRIAL
In Holden v Holden & Anor [2024] EWHC 453 (Ch) Mr Nicholas Thompsell (sitting as a Deputy High Court Judge) considered offers made by the defendant to see whether they were in fact Part 36 offers. He held that they…
LATE SERVICE OF THE PARTICULARS OF CLAIM AND RELIEF FROM SANCTIONS: CLAIMANT ALLOWED TO PURSUE CLAIM AGAINST ONE DEFENDANT BUT NOT THE OTHER: WHAT A DIFFERENCE AN ADMISSION MAKES
In Bangs v FM Conway Ltd & Anor [2024] EWHC 494 (Comm) Mr Justice Jacobs considered the claimant’s application for relief from sanctions when the particulars of claim had been served late. He allowed the claimant’s application against one defendant…
DISPUTING SERVICE OF THE CLAIM FORM: DEFENDANT FAILED TO USE CORRECT RULE, BUT CPR 3.10 APPLIED
A defendant that wants to dispute jurisdiction should normally apply under CPR Part 11. In The Tintometer Ltd & Anor v Pitmans (a firm) & Anor [2024] EWHC 370 (Ch) Mrs Justice Bacon considered the situation where a defendant had…
NEW FORMS FOR ANONYMITY ORDERS: GET THE LINK – SEE THE ORDER
Form PF 10 for anonymity orders has been amended. The latest form can be found here. PF10 Anonymity for children and protected parties – prohibition of publication order [HEADING] [TBC] (a child / protected party…
COURT OF APPEAL – NOT THE CORRECT DESTINATION FOR AN APPEAL RELATING TO THE SENTENCE PASSED ON A JUDGMENT DEBTOR
In Roberts v Jones [2024] EWCA Civ 118 the Court of Appeal held that it was not the correct court to hear an appeal relating to an appeal by a judgment creditor in relation to a sentence passed on a…
PART 36, WITNESS STATEMENTS, INDEMNITY COSTS AND CONDUCT: READ ALL ABOUT IT
In Duke of Sussex & Ors v MGN Ltd (Re Costs) [2024] EWHC 274 (Ch) Mr Justice Fancourt made some complex costs orders in relation to the litigation. However the fundamental point was that parties that the claimants that failed…
CHANGES TO THE FIXED COSTS RULES 2: 20 PAGES IN AN EXPERT’S REPORT DOES NOT MEAN 20 PAGES
Another change being introduced on the 6th April 2024 is a change (or possibly clarification) in relation to to the number of pages in an expert report in the Intermediate Track. The substantive report is still limited to 20 pages….
PENAL NOTICES ON ORDERS – CHANGES COMING INTO FORCE ON THE 6th APRIL 2024: A SIGNIFICANT CHANGE BY THE USE OF THE WORD “BY”
Yesterday we looked at a case where the judge held it was inappropriate for the court to add a penal notice to an existing order. The rules relating to penal notices are changing on the 6th April as a result…
CHANGES TO THE FIXED COSTS RULE 1: WHEN CLINICAL NEGLIGENCE CLAIMS MUST BE ALLOCATED TO THE MULTI TRACK
There are a number of significant changes taking place to the fixed costs rules, coming into force on the 6th April 2024. These are introduced by The Civil Procedure (Amendment) Rules 2024. Here we look at the change to the…
DENTON WATCH 3: DENTON IN THE FAMILY COURTS
In TRC v NS [2024] EWHC 80 (Fam) Mrs Justice Lieven considered the issues relating to relief from sanction in the context of an appeal in the Family Court. She held that Denton principles applied. “… the stricter…
ATTEMPTING TO GIVE NEW EVIDENCE WHEN THE ADVOCATE IS MAKING SUBMISSIONS: ANOTHER ISSUE IN THE POST OFFICE CASE
The recent post about the decision in Karimi, R (On the Application Of) v Sheffield City Council [2024] EWHC 93 (Admin), caused me to review another earlier blog post about the Post Office case. It concerned an attempt to introduce new…
A DEFENDANT CANNOT SIMPLY SEEK TO SET ASIDE THE CONSEQUENCES OF A DEBARRING ORDER: AN APPLICATION SOUNDLY REFUSED
In Al Saud v Gibbs [2024] EWHC 123 (Comm) Mr Justice Calver refused a defendant’s application to set aside a debarring order so that they could be involved in the trial of the action. The judgment contains important observations on…
SEEKING PERMISSION TO RELY ON AN EXPERT DOES NOT GIVE RISE TO AN APPLICATION FOR RELIEF FROM SANCTIONS: IMPORTANT JUDGMENT BY THE COURT OF APPEAL
In Yesss (A) Electrical Ltd -v- Warren [2024] EWCA Civ 14 the Court of Appeal considered the law relating to when an application for relief from sanctions comes into play. The judgment gives clear guidance about the question of when…
SERVING A SKELETON LATE DOES NOT A HAPPY JUDGE MAKE: IT IS A VICE TO SUPPLY MATERIALS LATE IN THE DAY
In Karimi, R (On the Application Of) v Sheffield City Council [2024] EWHC 93 (Admin) Fordham J sent out a reminder to practitioners (and particularly those who draft skeleton arguments) of the need to file skeleton arguments in accordance with…
MR BATES AND THE POST OFFICE 4: THE POST OFFICE’S ATTEMPT TO STRIKE OUT THE CLAIMANT’S EVIDENCE AND ITS CLAIM TO HAVE “SUPERNATURAL POWERS”
On March 16 2019 this blog had three separate posts on the Post Office case. The post repeated here gives an example of the Post Office’s extremely “robust” strategy. It attempted to strike out a large part of the claimants’…
FIRST CLAIM FORM CASE OF 2024: CLAIMANT COMES TO GRIEF WHEN THE DEFENDANT WAS SERVED BY THE WRONG METHOD: NO RELIEF AVAILABLE
It took until the 4th January for the first case in relation to service of the claim form to come to light. In Chehaib v King’s College Hospital NHS Foundation Trust & Ors [2024] EWHC 2 (KB) Master Stevens dismissed…
CIVIL LITIGATION 2023: A BRIEF REVIEW
I am not sure whether the facts and figures from this site can show any major trends in civil litigation. Here is a quick look back at some numbers from 2023. MOST VIEWED POSTS: THE TOP 10 (to date)…
OPENING LINES OF JUDGMENTS 2023: DRAGONS, VENUS, BOMBS, WAR AND THE BEAUTY OF NIDDERDALE (TO NAME JUST A FEW)
It is now too close to Christmas to write the traditional material of this blog. However it is a good time to review some of the best opening lines of judgments for 2023. If you feel I have missed some…
A CLAIMANT, ALLEGING FRAUD, IS NOT ENTITLED TO DELIBERATELY BREACH A COURT ORDER AND THE RULES OF COURT: HIGH COURT JUDGMENT GIVES LITIGATORS MUCH TO THINK ABOUT
Those who draft pleadings, particularly those alleging fraud and misconduct, have much to learn from the judgment of Mr Justice Johnson in AXA Insurance UK PLC v Kryeziu & Ors [2023] EWHC 3233 (KB). The fact that a party is…
COURT REFUSES (VERY) LATE APPLICATION TO RELY ON A WITNESS STATEMENT
In Johnstone v Fawcett’s Garage (Newbury) Ltd [2023] EWHC 3010 (KB) HHJ Simon rejected the claimant’s application, to rely on a new witness. The application was made as a preliminary issue at trial, there was no formal application, there was…
EXTENSIONS OF TIME TO SERVE THE CLAIM FORM SET ASIDE: YOU CANNOT HOLD ON: CARGO CLAIM COMES TO GRIEF
I clearly called time too early when I wrote, in a post on December 5, that we may the considering last claim form post of the year. We have another example of a claimant coming to grief in Doliaa SAS…
ISSUING ON BEHALF OF AN ESTATE WHEN THERE IS NO GRANT OF PROBATE: THE PROCEEDINGS WERE A NULLITY
The judgment of Master Brightwell in The Ali Abdullah Alesayi Will Establishment v Alesayi [2023] EWHC 3150 (Ch) provides a reminder of some important reminder of some important principles when issuing on behalf of the estate of a deceased person. …
THIS MAY (OR MAY NOT) BE THE FINAL CLAIM FORM CASE OF 2023: CLAIMANT MAKES FUNDAMENTAL MISTAKE AS TO SERVICE, DEFENDANTS FAIL TO NOTICE IN TIME: THERE IS MUCH TO LEARN HERE…
There are lessons for both claimants and defendant litigators in the judgment of Master Teverson (sitting in retirement) in Simon Bain Building Services Ltd v Cardone & Anor [2023] EWHC 2916 (Ch). Firstly we see another error by the claimant…
CLAIM FORM SENT TO DEFENDANT’S OLD REGISTERED OFFICE NOT PROPERLY SERVED: CLAIMANT WAS NOT INSULATED AGAINST THE MISTAKES OF THEIR SOLICITORS
The judgment of District Judge Dawson in Jagger (& others) -v- Axa Insurance PLC, has enough material to keep this blog going for a month. (The judgment is available on a link from the Law Society Gazette here). I am…
SERVICE OF THE CLAIM FORM CASES: THE PAST 14 MONTHS: ANOTHER SEASON OF THE DREARY & UNLOVELY CROP OF PROCEDURAL SERVICE ISSUES: WEBINAR 5th FEBRUARY 2024
This year has seen a bumper number of reported cases on what Master McCloud has referred to as a “dry and unlovely crop of procedural service issues”. This webinar on the 5th February looks at the cases relating to the…
PART 36 DOES NOT APPLY TO SOLICITORS ACT ASSESSMENTS: HIGH COURT DECISION (YESTERDAY)
In Zuhri v Vardags Ltd [2023] EWHC 3050 (SCCO) Costs Judge Leonard held that the provisions of CPR Part 36 do not apply to a Solicitors Act assessment of costs. However it may be relevant to Part 7 proceedings issued,…
COST BITES 124 : EARLY VIEW AS TO VALUE OF A PERSONAL INJURY CASE WAS NOT UNREASONABLE: DEFENDANT’S APPEAL DISMISSED
I am grateful to solicitor John McQuater for sending me a copy of the judgment of HHJ Sadiq in Drury -v- Yorkshire Aggregates Limited (a decision made in January this year, but the transcript has only just become available). It…
APPLICATION TO SET ASIDE DEFAULT JUDGMENT: THREE MONTHS DELAY IS NOT “PROMPT”: ABSENCE OF EVIDENCE AND A DRAFT DEFENCE DID NOT HELP
In Pincus v Singh & Anor [2023] EWHC 2997 (Ch) HHJ Paul Matthews refused a defendant’s application to set aside a default judgment. The defendant had waited for three months before making the application. There was no evidence in support…
COST BITES 123: COSTS OF BUDGETING REDUCED BY 25% TO REFLECT CLAIMANT’S UNREALISTIC BUDGET
In Reid v Wye Valley NHS Trust & Anor [2023] EWHC 2843 (KB) Master Brown reduced the recoverable costs of budgeting by 25% to reflect the unrealistic nature of the claimant’s budget. There are important issues here for those who…
“PLEADINGS ARE INTENDED TO IDENTIFY THE ISSUES, NOT OBSCURE THEM”: COMMENTS ON STATEMENTS OF CASE: THEY SHOULD PROVIDE LIGHT NOT DARKNESS
There have been a number of cases recently where judges have commented on the state of the pleadings. We see observations being made by Mr Justice Ritchie in the decision today in DMH Electrical (UK) Ltd v MK City Group…
COURT REFUSES TO GRANT AN ORDER FOR A GROUP LITIGATION ORDER: INCORRECT PROCEDURE; COSTS AND “WHACK -A-MOLE” CONSIDERED
Several kind people have sent me a copy of the decision in Abbott & Ors v Ministry of Defence [2023] EWHC 2839 (KB). This is an unusual case because, despite the claimant and defendant being in agreement, the court did…
COST BITES 120: QOCS AND HIRE CHARGES: DECISION THAT CLAIMANT SHOULD PAY COSTS OUTSIDE QOCS OVERTURNED ON APPEAL
In Amjad v UK Insurance Ltd [2023] EWHC 2832 (KB) Mr Justice Ritchie overturned a decision that the QOCS cap should be lifted in relation to a claimant who had failed to beat the defendant’s Part 36 offer and who…
COST BITES 117: THE COURT CAN ORDER A PAYMENT ON ACCOUNT OF COSTS WHERE THE SCHEDULE IS HIGH BUT NOT EXCESSIVE
In South Tees Development Corporation & Anor v PD Teesport Ltd & Anor (Re Costs) [2023] EWHC 2270 (Ch) Mr Justice Trower rejected an argument that a payment of account should not be made because the schedule in support was…
A SECOND ACTION ON A DIFFERENT ISSUE TO THE FIRST SHOULD NOT HAVE BEEN STRUCK OUT: COURT OF APPEAL NOT TOO KEEN ON “SHADOW BOXING” IN CIVIL LITIGATION
In Orji & Anor v Nagra & Anor [2023] EWCA Civ 1289 the Court of Appeal overturned a decision that an action should be struck out as an abuse of process. The Court rejected the defendant’s contention that the action…
PROVING THINGS 234: REMOTE EVIDENCE FROM OUTSIDE THE JURISDICTION: PARTY CALLING WITNESSES HITS A PROBLEM
The judgment of Deputy District Judge Batstone in Amanda Seafood PTE Ltd v Sykes Seafood Ltd [2023] EW Misc 13 (CC) illustrates the care that needs to be taken when attempting to call a witness who is giving evidence remotely…
THE “SLIP RULE” CONSIDERED IN DETAIL: ALSO THE COURT’S INHERENT POWERS TO VARY ITS ORDERS (APPLICANT UNSUCCESSFUL ON BOTH COUNTS…)
The “slip rule” in civil procedure is often mentioned, but rarely considered at length. There is a detailed consideration of the rule and relevant authorities in the judgment of Mr Justice Henshaw in Deutsche Bank AG v Sebastian Holdings Inc…
WINDING UP PETITION NEEDS TO BE ISSUED IN LOCAL COURT: TYNE FOR PETITIONERS TO CHANGE THEIR PRACTICES
In The One Collection Real Estate Ltd v Insolvency & Law Ltd [2023] EWHC 2673 (Ch). HHJ Kramer held that a winding up petition should be issued and heard in the circuit that has closest links to the case. A block policy…
CLAIMANTS NOT GIVEN PERMISSION TO RELY ON EXPERT EVIDENCE: THE EVIDENCE WOULD NOT ASSIST THE COURT IN ITS TASK (WITH A FEW OTHER REASONS)
In Wambura & Ors v Barrick TZ Ltd & Anor [2023] EWHC 2582 (KB) Master Stevens rejected the claimants’ application to call an expert. The judge contains a detailed consideration of the law and authorities relating to the court’s discretion…
WANT TO OBTAIN AN ORDER AFTER RECEIVING A DRAFT JUDGMENT? BETTER READ THIS
I have been kindly sent a message from Tim Lord KC which sets out observations made by Miles J in relation to Practice Direction 40E., in particular 4.4.. The Practice Direction deals with the handing down of judgments. 4.4. imposes…
WEBINAR ON DRAFTING SCHEDULES IN PERSONAL INJURY CASES: 9th NOVEMBER 2023
I am presenting a webinar on drafting Schedules on the 9th November 2023. Booking details are available here. “In the event, the Original Schedules of Loss were shown to be quite unreliable and, in many respects, bore little or no relation…
FIXED COSTS: LONDON WEIGHTING (AN EXTRA 12.5%): BUT – WHERE IS LONDON?
The fixed costs provisions provide a “London Weighting” of an additional 12.5%. “London” has a specific meaning as defined in the Practice Direction set out below. CPR 45.3 Additional costs for work in specified areas (‘London weighting’) 45.3.—(1) Where…
FIXED COSTS: THE COURT MAY CONSIDER A HIGHER SUM IF A PARTY OR WITNESS IS “VULNERABLE”
The rules make provision allowing the court to award a higher sum for damages when a party, or witness is vulnerable. However there are significant caveats. It must be the vulnerability that has required additional work to be undertaken and the…
FIXED RECOVERABLE COSTS: A POWER TO ORDER GREATER AMOUNTS IN “EXCEPTIONAL CIRCUMSTANCES” AND THE STING IN THE TAIL
Continuing the examination of fixed recoverable costs. CPR 45.9 gives the court power to order sums greater than FRC in “exceptional circumstances”. The applicant’s difficulties are (i) there is no definition of exceptional circumstances (ii) there is a real sting…
FIXED COSTS AND PART 36: THE 35% GAIN IF A CLAIMANT BEATS THEIR OWN OFFER
The new rules introduce a fixed percentage as an “additional liability” in cases where a case is subject to fixed costs and a case has Part 36 costs consequences. Where a claimant has beaten their own offer and, normally, an…
TODAY’S THE DAY: KEY POSTS AND ARTICLES ON FIXED COSTS
I suspect that this blog will be writing about fixed costs for some time to come. To mark (I won’t say “celebrate”) the start of the new regime I have done a round up previous posts, useful lectures and webinars…
CIVIL PROCEDURE BACK TO BASICS 99: THE MANDATORY REQUIREMENTS FOR THE TOP RIGHT HAND CORNER OF A WITNESS STATEMENT AND AFFIDAVIT
The purpose of this series is to look at the most basic elements of civil procedure. One, very common, omission practitioners make is to fail to follow the mandatory requirements of Practice Direction 32 in relation to the information on…
PROVING THINGS 232: CAR FIRES AND EXPERT EVIDENCE: WHY EXPERTS SHOULD MIND THEIR LANGUAGE: A MOVE FROM “MUST” TO “MORE THAN PROBABLE” REPRESENTS A SIGNIFICANT CHANGE
The judgment of Mr Justice Freedman in Nash v Volskwagen Financial Services (UK) Ltd [2023] EWHC 2326 (KB) contains important observations in relation to the law and evidence relating to causation. However I want to look at the judge’s consideration…
NEW COSTS RULES: WHEN A CASE CAN’T GO INTO THE INTERMEDIATE TRACK
Continuing with the series about the new rules relating to fixed costs. Here we recap on those cases that are not affected by the rules (because of the commencement date) and those issues that must be allocated to the multi-track….
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