DEFENDANT REFUSED RELIEF FROM SANCTIONS WHEN COSTS BUDGET WAS SERVED THE DAY BEFORE THE CCMC: “THIS IS HIGH COURT LITIGATION WHICH IS SUBJECT TO RULES WHICH MUST BE COMPLIED WITH”
Here we see another litigant coming to grief because of a failure to file a costs budget on time. The litigant had been warned of the consequences and the judge found that there was no good reason for the breach. …
THROWBACK FRIDAY: APPLICATIONS FOR RELIEF FROM SANCTIONS: 10 POINTS TO IMPROVE THE ODDS: LOOKING BACK TO JANUARY 2016
This blog celebrates its 13th birthday later this year. Civil Litigation Brief started as a series in the Solicitors Journal 35 years ago. Needless to say it has a large “back catalogue”. I wanted a regular opportunity to bring important…
APPEAL STRUCK OUT BECAUSE OF APPELLANTS’ FAILURE TO FILE A COMPLIANT BUNDLE: RELIEF FROM SANCTIONS REFUSED
All those involved in the appeal process, indeed litigation generally, are best advised to read this judgment. It is about the standard the court’s expect when an appeal is being brought. It is also about procedural failures and failures to…
DEFENCES STRUCK OUT BECAUSE OF A FAILURE TO COMPLY WITH PEREMPTORY ORDER FOR DISCLOSURE: SHOULD RELIEF FROM SANCTIONS BE GRANTED?
Here we look at a case where the defendants failed to comply with a peremptory order for disclosure. The defences stood struck out. The issue the judge had to determine was whether relief from sanctions should be granted. This in…
COST BITES 303: THE SOLICITOR CANNOT PASS ON RESPONSIBILITY FOR A DEFECTIVE BILL TO THE COSTS LAWYER: A 75% REDUCTION BECAUSE OF THE WAY IN WHICH THE BILL WAS DRAFTED
Here we are looking at a case involving a bill of costs that was wholly defective that the costs judge was invited to strike it out. The judge came very close, but reduced the bill by 75% instead. There…
HIGH COURT REFUSES RELIEF FROM SANCTIONS WHEN SKELETON ARGUMENT WAS SERVED LATE: BREACHES OF EVEN A DAY OR TWO SHOULD NOT BE REGARDED WITH EQUANIMITY
If a skeleton argument is served late then relief from sanctions is required. The case we are looking at here makes it clear that it is prudent to make a formal application rather than assume relief will be granted “on…
MEMBER NEWS: “ON DEMAND” CIVIL LITIGATION BRIEF WEBINARS AVAILABLE TO WATCH AT A TIME AND PLACE TO SUIT YOU: WITH DISCOUNTS FOR CLB MEMBERS
Last week we looked at webinars coming up which may be of interest to CLB readers. CLB members can obtain a discount on these webinars. The same discount applies to webinars which are now available “on demand”. These webinars are…
DEFENDANT’S APPLICATION TO EXTEND TIME TO CHALLENGE COSTS PROVISIONS REFUSED: 21 DAYS WAS A SERIOUS AND SIGNIFICANT BREACH AND THERE WAS NO GOOD REASON FOR IT
Here we are looking at a case where the court refused the defendant’s application to extend time when the defendant wanted to challenge the argument that costs were capped. It was held that the defendant’s delay of 21 days was…
THE CURRENT IMPORTANCE OF PLEADINGS 22: WHOLE BATCHES OF CASES STRUCK OUT BECAUSE THE PARTICULARS WERE DEFICIENT: RELIEF FROM SANCTIONS REFUSED
Here we are looking at a case where numerous actions brought by the claimant were struck out because the Particulars of Claim were wholly deficient. They remained wholly deficient even after the court had made a peremptory order compelling the…
CLAIMANT GRANTED RELIEF FROM SANCTIONS (ON APPEAL) FOLLOWING LATE SERVICE OF A COSTS BUDGET (TWO YEARS AND FIVE MONTHS LATE…): BUT AT A COST…
Cases relating to late service of the costs budget are still filtering through. Rarely, however, does the failure extend over 2 years and 4 months as it does here. Despite the delay the claimant’s successfully appealed against the initial refusal…
NO RELIEF FOR CLAIMANTS WHO SERVED THE CLAIM FORM LATE: TAKING A POINT AS TO SERVICE IS NOT “PLAYING TECHNICAL GAMES”
It may be possible for a month to go by without a mis-service of the claim form issue arising in the courts, but it is not this month. We have here a case with the familiar litany of waiting to…
THE JUDGE’S DECISION TO GRANT RELIEF FROM SANCTIONS TO A DEFENDANT WAS APPROPRIATE: SOME WORDS AS TO HOW PEREMPTORY ORDERS SHOULD BE DRAFTED.
Today we are looking at a case where the Court of Appeal upheld a decision granting a defendant relief from sanctions. However this is a case of “two halves” in that the claimant had a more favourable decision in relation…
DEFENDANT GRANTED AN EXTENSION OF TIME TO FILE A DEFENCE : “I AM IN NO DOUBT THAT I SHOULD GRANT THE RETROSPECTIVE APPLICATION OF OF ONE DAY…”
In Ahmad v Comptroller-General of Patents, Designs and Trade Marks [2025] EWHC 936 (Pat) Mr Justice Mellor granted the defendant an extension of one day to file a defence, this had the effect of making the defendant’s applications to strike…
RELIEF FROM SANCTIONS AFTER BREACHING A PEREMPTORY ORDER AND FAILING TO PLEAD A CASE PROPERLY: CLAIMANT ALLOWED TO CONTINUE (IN PART)
We are looking again at the judgment in Michele Carrington v American International Group UK Limited [2025] EWHC 1010 (TCC). This time in relation to the issue of relief from sanctions. The claimant had failed to comply with a peremptory order to…
£1 MILLION CASE AUTOMATICALLY STRUCK OUT: RELIEF FROM SANCTIONS REFUSED: THE FACT THAT THIS WAS A “ROGUE SOLICITOR” WAS NOT A STRONG ARGUMENT IN FAVOUR OF REINSTATEMENT
The judgment of HHJ Hassall in Mr Martyn Ian Haynes v Total Plant Hire Limited is available as a link on an article in the Law Society Gazette, available here. The case involves a detailed consideration of the Denton criteria. In particular some of the arguments on…
THE DENTON PRINCIPLES AND EXTENSIONS OF TIME TO APPEAL (AGAIN): DELAYS REQUIRE AN EXPLANATION – NOT A CHRONOLOGY
The judgment of HHJ Karen Walden-Smith in Khan & Anor v Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government & Anor [2025] EWHC 969 (Admin) is the second example this week of the court considering the Denton principles when…
THE DENTON PRINCIPLES: RELIEF FROM SANCTIONS AND EXTENSIONS OF TIME TO APPEAL: A “NUANCED APPROACH” IS REQUIRED
In Yaxley-Lennon v HM Solicitor General [2025] EWCA Civ 476 the Court of Appeal considered the Denton principles in the context of extending time for permission to appeal. The case emphasises that the absence of a good reason for default…
WHAT TO DO WHEN THINGS GO WRONG IN LITIGATION: TEN KEY POINTS CONSIDERED: ACT PROMPLY, ACT PROPERLY AND DON’T TELL LIES
Legal Futures carries a report of a paralegal banned from the profession because she tried to cover up a mistake by lying to the court. This gives me a reason to reiterate points made regularly on this blog about what…
MAKING AN APPLICATION FOR RELIEF FROM SANCTIONS? 10 KEY POINTS TO HELP
Periodically I revisit posts on this blog to see whether they remain of relevance – this post (from January 2016) does. It sets out ten key points in making an application for relief from sanctions. Every point made nine years…
CIVIL LITIGATION BRIEF IN 2024: SOME FACTS AND FIGURES
As 2024 draws to a close this is a good time to look back at the year in terms of civil procedure. There have been 463 posts to date this year amounting to 938 thousand words (I haven’t counted them…
CASE STRUCK OUT FOR FAILURE TO COMPLY WITH UNLESS ORDER: APPLICATION TO ADJOURN TO ALLOW RELIEF FROM SANCTIONS APPLICATION REFUSED: DENTON CRITERIA CONSIDERED
In Gladwin v RSM UK Restructuring Advisory LLP [2024] EWHC 3054 (Ch) ICC Judge Barber held that the claimant’s case was struck out because of a failure to comply with a peremptory order. The judge refused the claimant’s application to…
DEFENDANTS OBTAIN EXTRA TIME TO COMPLY WITH PEREMPTORY ORDER: CPR 3.(2)(a) CONSIDERED
In Ahmad v Ouajjou & Anor [2024] EWHC 2659 (Comm) Mr Justice Bryan granted the defendant an extension of time to comply with a peremptory order to pay costs. The application was made “ahead of time”. CPR 3.9 did not…
COURT ALLOWS LATE WITNESS STATEMENT TO BE RELIED UPON: DENTON CRITERIA CONSIDERED
In Titan Wealth Holdings Ltd & Ors v Okunola (Rev1) [2024] EWHC 2586 (KB) Mrs Justice Hill considered the Denton criteria when granting the claimant permission to rely on a witness statement served out of time. There was a good…
RELIEF FROM SANCTIONS, LATE WITNESS STATEMENTS AND THE “WEIGHT” (OR ABSENCE OF WEIGHT) TO BE GIVEN TO THOSE STATEMENTS
In Oliver v Duffy [2024] EWHC 2590 Mrs Justice Hill considered an application for relief from sanction in a case where witnesses had not attended trial. The judge granted relief from sanctions but went on to hold that those statements…
ENTERING JUDGMENT IN DEFAULT: NO DUTY ON THE PARTIES TO HELP EACH OTHER: THE IMPORTANCE OF KNOWING THE RULES
There are some interesting observations in the judgment of HHJ Cadwallader (sitting as a Judge of the High Court) in Thiscompany Ltd & Ors v Welsh & Ors [2024] EWHC 2159 (Comm). It was a case where three of the…
THE AUTOMATIC STAY UNDER CPR 15.11 AND RELIEF FROM SANCTIONS: A CASE IN POINT
In Michael Wilson & Partners, Ltd v Short [2024] EWHC 2113 (Ch) Master Clark granted the claimant relief from sanctions in a case that had become automatically stayed under CPR 15.11. This case serves as a reminder, if nothing else,…
RELIEF FROM SANCTIONS REFUSED WHEN WITNESS EVIDENCE SERVED THREE WEEKS LATE: SOMETHING ABOUT THE DANGERS OF “CUT AND PASTE” SUBMISSIONS TOO…
In Seaton Management Ltd v Evans-Jones [2024] EWHC 1883 (Ch) ICC Judge Barber refused the respondent’s application for relief from sanctions when a witness statement was served three weeks late. “The matters addressed in the Respondent’s skeleton argument on…
DEFENDANT DID NOT ATTEND TRIAL: APPLICATION FOR REMOTE HEARING NOT ALLOWED: JUDGMENT ENTERED: DEFENDANT’S APPEAL UNSUCESSFUL
In Sobowale v Lendinvest Capital SARL [2024] EWHC 1829 (Ch) Nicola Rushton KC (sitting as a High Court Judge) dismissed a defendant’s appeal against judgment being entered against him when he failed to attend a trial. “There was no…
RESPONDENT GRANTED RELIEF FROM SANCTIONS WHEN WITNESS EVIDENCE WAS SERVED LATE: TO SHUT IT OUT FROM PRESENTING ITS BEST EVIDENCE WOULD BE “WHOLLY UNJUST AND DISPROPORTIONATE”
In Tanfield & Anor v Meadowbrook Montessori Ltd [2024] EWHC 1759 (Ch) ICC Judge Barber allowed a respondent’s application for relief from sanctions when witness evidence was served late. The Denton test was considered and, although the respondent could not…
SERVICE OF THE CLAIM FORM: SETTING JUDGMENT ASIDE; JURISDICTION; DELAY AND DENTON – QUITE A LOT IN ONE CASE
There are a lot of issues in the judgment of Master Sullivan in Tradin Organic Agriculture BV v Gold Grain Gida Tarim Urunleri Sanayi Ve Ticaret Anonim Sirketi [2024] EWHC 1562 (KB). Firstly whether the mixing up of pages in…
“CIVIL LITIGATION IN THE MODERN ERA REQUIRES THE PARTIES TO BEHAVE REASONABLY”, PARTY PENALISED IN COSTS FOR NOT AGREEING TO AN EXTENSION OF TIME
In Invenia Technical Computing Corporation & Anor v Hudson [2024] EWHC 1481 (KB) Mr Justice Knowles held that a party that had refused a reasonable request for an extension of time should pay the costs of that application. “……
CLAIMANT REFUSED RELIEF FROM SANCTIONS IN SERVING NOTICE OF NON-ADMISSION OF AUTHENTICITY OF DOCUMENTS: THE APPLICATION WAS LATE, AND THE ARGUMENT WAS HOPELESS
In Invest Bank PSC v El-Husseini & Ors [2024] EWHC 1804 (Comm) Mr Justice Calver refused the claimant bank’s application for relief from sanctions when it served a notice of a notice to prove the authenticity of a document. The…
SECRETARY OF STATE REFUSED PERMISSION TO RELY ON A WITNESS STATEMENT THAT WAS SERVED LATE
In One Trees Estates Ltd, R (On the Application Of) v Secretary of State for the Home Department [2024] EWHC 1644 (Admin) Margaret Obi, sitting as a Deputy High Court Judge, refused the Secretary of State’s application for permission to…
DEFENDANT’S APPLICATION FOR RELIEF FROM SANCTIONS REFUSED: AN APPLICATION TO DISPUTE JURISDICTION SHOULD BE DONE PROMPTLY
In Ibrahim v AXA Belgium [2024] EWHC 856 (KB) Master Fontaine refused the defendant’s application for an extension of time to dispute the jurisdiction. The defendant should have applied within 14 days of acknowledging service, it took 30. The defendant’s…
THE DANGERS OF RUNNING UP TO DEADLINES AND LEAVING MATTERS LATE FOR COMPLIANCE: DEFENDANT HAD FAILED TO FILE WITH COURT ORDERS: REFUSAL TO GRANT RELIEF FROM SANCTIONS UPHELD ON APPEAL
The judgment of Mr Justice Ritchie in Jaiyesimi v Kukoyi [2024] EWHC 164 (KB) has many important lessons for litigators. Firstly the need for the fee to be paid in order that an application is properly made. Secondly the dangers…
LAWYERS MUST LIKE LIVING DANGEROUSLY: APPLICATION MADE THREE MINUTES BEFORE DEADLINE: THE CLAIMANT SCRAPES HOME…
In Lloyds Developments Ltd v Accor HotelServices UK Ltd [2024] EWHC 941 (TCC) Mrs Justice Jefford considered a claimant’s application for an extension of time to comply with a peremptory order which was made 3 minutes prior to the time…
PROCEDURE, DAMAGES, LIABILITY, COSTS AND LIMITATION: A SERIES OF WEBINARS THIS YEAR AIMING TO HELP AVOID OR DEAL WITH PROBLEMS IN LITIGATION
The issues arising from many of the cases looked at on this blog are being considered in a series of webinars starting later this month. The webinars cover many of the problem areas of litigation: what to do when things…
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…
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…
DENTON WATCH 2: COURT REFUSES LATE APPLICATION FOR PERMISSION TO APPEAL
In Tameside Caravans and Storage Ltd v Viavecto Ltd [2024] EWHC 95 (KB) Mr Justice Constable refused the defendant’s request for permission to appeal out of time. The fact that the defendant was a litigant in person at the time…
DENTON WATCH: CLAIMANT REFUSED RELIEF FROM SANCTIONS WHEN THE CLAIM FORM WAS NOT SERVED DUE TO SOLICITOR’S MISTAKEN BELIEF THAT IT WOULD BE SERVED BY THE COURT
In Phipps v Goulbourne (Re the Estate of Tetla Yvonne Goulboure otherwise Tetla Yvonne Butler) [2024] EWHC 130 (Ch) Master Teverson refused the claimant’s application for relief from sanctions. The claimant failed to serve a claim form, in accordance with…
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…
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…
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…
RELIEF FROM SANCTIONS REFUSED WHEN THE COSTS BUDGET WAS SERVED LATE: BUDGETING AT TRIAL IS A FAIRLY HOPELESS TASK
There is much to learn from the decision of Mr Justice Ritchie in Tan v Idlbi & Anor [2023] EWHC 2840 (KB). The claimant was unsuccessful in an application for relief from sanctions following late service of the costs budget….
“RELIEF FROM SANCTIONS” NOT REQUIRED: COURT OF APPEAL CONSIDER WHEN CPR 3.9 CRITERIA APPLY: ITS NOT ALWAYS PLANE SAILING…
In Lufthansa Technik AG v Panasonic Avionics Corporation & Ors [2023] EWCA Civ 1273 the Court of Appeal addressed the difficult issue of when a breach led to a need to apply from relief from sanctions. It found that, on…
DENTON PRINCIPLES APPLY TO APPLICATIONS TO SET ASIDE DEFAULT JUDGMENTS: COURT OF APPEAL DECISION TODAY
In FXF v English Karate Federation Ltd & Anor [2023] EWCA Civ 891 the Court of Appeal stated, categorically, that the Denton principles must be considered where a defendant applies to set aside a default judgment. Firstly there was binding…
COST BITES 96: A “REPLACEMENT” BUDGET WAS SERVED LATE: RELIEF FROM SANCTIONS GRANTED
In Henderson and Jones Ltd v Stargunter Ltd & Anor [2023] EWHC 1849 (TCC) Neil Moody KC (sitting as a High Court Judge) considered whether a formal application for relief from sanctions was needed in a case where a party…
PERMISSION GIVEN FOR “UPDATING” WITNESS STATEMENTS: PARTIES NEED TO CONSIDER DIRECTIONS FOR UP-TO-DATE FACTUAL EVIDENCE
The judgment of Mr Justice Ritchie in CCC v Sheffield Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust [2023] EWHC 1770 (KB) is an example of how consideration needs to be given to “updated” witness statements in a case where there situation is…
COURT OF APPEAL UPHOLDS DECISION NOT TO GRANT RELIEF FROM SANCTIONS: PROBLEMS WITH ISSUE, SERVICE AND NOTICE OF APPLICATIONS: ALL LITIGATION LIFE IS HERE…
In Elo Trustees Ltd v Bonhams 1793 Ltd & Anor [2023] EWCA Civ 664 the Court of Appeal upheld a decision not to give relief from sanctions. The case is illustrative of a large number of the dangers of litigation….
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