NOT COMPLYING WITH DIRECTIONS OR REPLYING TO CORRESPONDENCE – AND THEN BLAMING THE OTHER SIDE: IT DOES YOU NO CREDIT
There are several matters of general interest in the judgment of Mrs Justice Pepperall in Essex County Council v UBB Waste (Essex) Ltd [2019] EWHC 819 (TCC) (02 April 2019). Here we look at the dangers of simply failing to…
LAWYERS: WHAT DO YOU DO WHEN THINGS HAVE GONE WRONG? MEANINGFUL ADVICE FROM PEOPLE WHO KNOW (AND CARE): WHEN YOU THINK SOMETHING IS HITTING THE FAN
Last night I did a post on using social media to help young lawyers (and some not so young lawyers). Specifically on how it is possible to gather information and advice from around the professions (and indeed around the world)….
ADVICE FOR THE ASPIRANT OR TYRO LAWYER: WHEN TWITTER CAN BE YOUR FRIEND (IN FACT YOU CAN HAVE DOZENS OF FRIENDS GIVING YOU ADVICE)
This is a post started almost by accident. It started with a tweet when a barrister was happy to be sitting on her sofa, for a change and said this is the reality of legal life. It led to dozens…
“CAN SOLICITORS BE RUDE IN THEIR CORRESPONDENCE TO THE OPPOSING CLIENT”? A RECAP OF ADVICE ON CONDUCT AND COURTESY
“Can solicitors be rude in their correspondence to the opposing client.” This was a search term that led someone to this blog earlier today. We don’t know whether this search was from a solicitor proposing to be rude, or the…
WHO HAS WON AND WHO SHOULD PAY THE COSTS? WHEN “WHO PAYS THE CHEQUE” IS NOT A SUFFICIENT ANSWER
In Hamad M Aldrees & Partners v Rotex Europe Ltd [2019] EWHC 526 (TCC) Sir Antony Edwards-Stuart considered a case where it was far from clear that the “winning” party should recover its costs, The case is useful in that it…
CASE MANAGEMENT, “RELEVANCE” AND ATTEMPTS TO HOLD THE COURT “IN TERROREM”: MORE ON THE POST OFFICE CASE (SOME EXTRAORDINARY ISSUES HERE)
I am returning to the judgment in Bates & Ors v Post Office Ltd (No 3) [2019] EWHC 606 (QB) because parts of the judgment set out arguments and conduct of litigation that is, to say the least, unusual. This part…
EXPERTS WHO CAN’T REPORT IN TIME: BETTER READ THIS: IF YOU CAN’T REPORT ON TIME PROBABLY BEST NOT TO TAKE INSTRUCTIONS AT ALL…
In X and Y (Delay : Professional Conduct of Expert) [2019] EWFC B9 HH Clifford Bellamy (sitting as a Deputy Circuit Judge) made some observations in relation to the role of the expert, particularly when that expert cannot report timeously. The…
ALLEGED “MISCONDUCT” DURING ASSESSMENT PROCESS DID NOT LEAD TO COSTS BEING DISALLOWED OR REDUCED: ATE PREMIUM WAS REASONABLE
In Murray v Oxford University Hospitals NHS Trust [2019] EWHC 539 (QB) Mr Justice Stewart rejected an argument that mistakes made by a claimant during the assessment of costs process should have led to costs being disallowed or reduced. The…
THE DANGERS OF TAKING A ONE-SIDED WITNESS STATEMENT – A RECAP
A number of recent posts have looked at difficulties caused the the way in which evidence was collected and witness statements drafted. The taking of one-sided witness statements led to major difficulties for the party who were attempting to rely…
WITNESS EVIDENCE: GRAPPLE WITH THOSE DIFFICULTIES: KNOW WHETHER YOU CAN PROVE YOUR CASE: OTHERWISE IT IS GOING TO COST YOU (ALSO THE IMPORTANCE OF AN OFFER)
The previous post looked at the witness evidence of some of the claimants against one of the defendants in the case of Zagora Management Ltd & Ors v Zurich Insurance Plc & Ors [2019] EWHC 140 (TCC). Here we look at the…
WHEN EXPERTS REPORT THINGS THAT HAVE NEVER BEEN SAID: IT NEVER GOES WELL (WHEN THEY ARE FOUND OUT AT LEAST)
There was report in the Scottish newspaper The Herald earlier this week about disciplinary proceedings being brought against a doctor who had prepared a “misleading and inaccurate” medical report. In essence the expert reported, as facts, matters that the interviewee…
WHEN LITIGATION BECOMES A “VERBAL BRAWL”: DISCLOSURE MUST BE PROPORTIONATE
In Canary Riverside Estate Management Ltd v Circus Apartments Ltd [2019] EWHC 154 (Ch) Master Shuman observed how disclosure applications could quickly become disproportional. The litigation had become a “verbal brawl”. It is an example of the dangers of losing sight…
WHEN YOU’VE SPENT ALL YOUR MONEY ON LEGAL COSTS: NO REMEDY AVAILABLE: LITTLE SYMPATHY WHEN YOUR NET INCOME IS THE SAME AS A CIRCUIT JUDGE
This blog usually looks at family cases in the context of evidence or costs. The decision in Daga v Bangur [2018] EWFC 91 has a salutary tale to tell in relation to costs. There is also an interesting comparison in relation…
DETAILED ASSESSMENTS WILL NOT OVERSTEP THE MARK: THE COURTS WILL NOT (GENERALLY) REVISIT MATTERS RELATING TO THE CONDUCT OF THE CASE ON ASSESSMENT
There is an interesting and important judgment by Deputy Master Friston in Andrews v Retro Computers Ltd [2019] EWHC B2 (Costs) which highlights the dangers of attempting to use detailed assessment as a means of challenging the receiving party’s conduct. I…
INTRANSIGENT EXPERT’S APPROACH LEADS TO “SIGNIFICANT PART OF CLAIMANT’S CASE BEING STRUCK OUT”: A CASE FOR EVERY EXPERT AND LITIGATOR TO READ – NOW
The judgment of Mr Justice Males in Mayr & Ors v CMS Cameron McKenna Nabarro Olswang LLP [2018] EWHC 3669 (Comm) is one of the most robust I have seen in relation to expert evidence. An expert’s failure to properly engage…
“A MISUSE OF JUDICIAL POWER”: A WITNESS SPEAKING TO LAWYER IN THE COURSE OF GIVING EVIDENCE DOES NOT JUSTIFY COMMITTAL OR STRIKING OUT A CASE
In the judgment today in Hughes Jarvis Ltd v Searle & Anor [2019] EWCA Civ the Court of Appeal robustly overturned a decision committing a witness to prison and striking out a case. It was found that the trial judge had,…
DEFENDANT ORDERED TO PAY COSTS AFTER REFUSING TO PAY PRE-ACTION COSTS: COURT OF APPEAL REFUSES TO GIVE PERMISSION TO APPEAL
In November last year I wrote about the case of Ayton -v- RSM Bentley Bennison & Ors [2018] EWHC 2851 (QB). This was a case in which the defendant refused to pay cost incurred prior to issue. Proceedings were issued and…
THE CONSEQUENCES WHEN SERVICE OF THE CLAIM FORM GOES WRONG: SOLICITOR’S LIEN OVERRIDDEN: NOT KNOWING THE RULES IN RELATION TO SERVICE AMOUNTS TO “MISCONDUCT”
The judgment in Higgins & Ors v TLT LLP [2017] EWHC 3868 (Ch) shows another case that has been made problematic because of basic errors in failure of service of the claim form. The errors made by the solicitors in that…
A STRATEGY WHEN SETTLEMENT IS REACHED WITH SOME, BUT NOT ALL, DEFENDANTS
An earlier post dealt with the judgment in McDermott -v- Inhealth Limited (19/07/2018) in relation to costs liability when a claimant settled against some, but not all, defendants in a clinical negligence case. That judgment was sent to me by Thomas Riis-Bristow, Associate…
COSTS AND “ABSURD” CONDUCT IN LITIGATION: HOW TO WASTE £1 MILLION…
This blog rarely looks at family cases. When it does it is often in relation to costs. Which is why the judgment of Mr Justice Francis in ABX v SBX [2018] EWFC 81 caught my eye. It raises one fundamental dilemma…