COST BITES 49: ARE THE COSTS OF A MEDICAL AGENCY RECOVERABLE IN THE FIXED COSTS REGIME? DISTRICT JUDGE FINDS THAT THEY ARE
Are the costs of a medical agency recoverable under the fixed costs regime? I am grateful to barrister John Meehan for sending me a copy of the judgment of District Judge Phillips in Wilkinson-Mulvaney -v- UK Insurance Ltd (19th January…
NON-PARTY COSTS ORDER AGAINST EXPERT WITNESS SET ASIDE ON APPEAL: THE FACT THAT AN EXPERT’S CONCLUSIONS CAN BE CRITICISED DOES NOT AMOUNT TO A FLAGRANT DISREGARD OF THEIR DUTY
I am grateful to barrister Nadia Whittaker for sending me a copy of the judgment of Mr Justice Sweeting in Robinson -v- Liverpool Hospitals NHS Trust and Mercier [2023] EWHC 21 (KB), a copy of the judgment is available here. …
JUST BECAUSE A MATTER IS TECHNICALLY COMPLICATED DOES NOT MEAN THAT EXPERTS NEED ATTEND TRIAL
In Siemens Mobility Ltd v High Speed Two (HS2) Ltd [2022] EWHC 2190 (TCC) Mrs Justice O’Farrell considered an argument that the technical issues that arose in an action led to the need for experts to attend court. This argument…
FAILURE TO COMPLY WITH PROTOCOL LEADS TO COSTS OF A MEDICAL REPORT NOT BEING RECOVERED
I was informed recently that permission to appeal was refused in the case of Greyson -v- Fuller. I am grateful to Simon Fisher from DWF for sending me a copy of the decision in Glendining -v- McCarthy,* where DDJ Causton…
APPLICATION TO RELY ON EXPERT EVIDENCE REFUSED: THE RULES WERE NOT FOLLOWED AND THE REPORT WAS “FAR BELOW THE STANDARD OF ANALYSIS THAT THIS COURT IS ENTITLED TO EXPECT FROM AN EXPERT WITNESS”
In North Yorkshire Clinical Commissioning Group v E (Covid Vaccination) (Rev1) [2022] EWCOP 15 Mr Justice Poole disallowed an application by a respondent in relation to expert evidence. The expert had been instructed without compliance with the procedural rules in…
EXPERT WHO WALKED “ON THE PAVEMENT HAND IN HAND” WITH THE CLIENT: EXPERT WITH ALL THE HALLMARKS OF THE MENTALITY OF AN ADVOCATE
We have already looked at the judgment of Mr Justice Mostyn in Gallagher v Gallagher (No.2) (Financial Remedies) [2022] EWFC 53 in relation to costs. There are some telling observations in that judgment in relation to the role of the expert…
PROVING THINGS 232: “THE RULES OF THE GAME OF ASSOCIATION FOOTBALL HAVE NOT BEEN DRAFTED WITH CIVIL LIABILITY IN MIND”: APPEAL LEADS TO OVERTURNING OF JUDGMENT ON FOOTBALLER’S NEGLIGENCE: A REMATCH IS ORDERED
In Fulham Football Club v Jones [2022] EWHC 1108 (QB) Mr Justice Lane allowed an appeal in a case where a footballer had found to be negligent when tackling an opponent. The judgment considers the issue of liability in the…
AN EXPERT REPORT THAT DID NOT COMPLY WITH PRACTICALLY EVERY REQUIREMENT OF CPR 35: IT FAILS TO PERSUADE THE COURT
An example of the importance of the format of an expert report can be found in the judgment of Master David Cook in Pal -v- Damen [2022] EWHC 004697 (QB). It is a decision that shows that the courts will…
RAKING UP OLD CASES WAS NOT A FRUITFUL GROUND FOR CROSS-EXAMINATION OF AN EXPERT
In contemporary litigation it is not unusual for the parties to spend some time (perhaps a considerably time) looking for material about previous cases that expert witnesses were involved in. This may not always be time well spent. In Richards…
NO DUTY OF CARE OWED BY A JOINTLY INSTRUCTED EXPERT (ON THE FACTS OF THIS CASE): EXPERTS GIVING EVIDENCE ABOUT BEING EXPERTS: MUCH TO READ HERE
The judgment of Mrs Justice Lambert in Radia v Marks [2022] EWHC 145 (QB) is essential reading for anyone who instructs experts in litigation. It is also essential reading for experts. The judge dismissed a claim in negligence against a…
WHEN A CLAIMANT APPEARS AS THEIR OWN EXPERT WITNESS: IT RARELY ENDS WELL
In Tehrani v Hamilton Bonaduz AG & Ors [2021] EWHC 3457 (IPEC) HHJ Hacon considered a case where a claimant appeared as their own expert witness. THE CASE The claimant, a professor, brought an action asserting that the defendant…
WHEN A CLAIMANT RELIES ON EXPERT EVIDENCE TO PROVE LIABILITY: THE (NOT SO) SLIPPERY SLOPE TO FAILURE
I am grateful to barrister Frederick Simpson for sending me his note of a decision where the claimant relied heavily on expert evidence in order to establish their claim. There were weaknesses in the report which contributed to the claimant’s…
WHEN YOUR CASE LARGELY RELIES ON EXPERT EVIDENCE: MAKE SURE YOUR EXPERT IS NOT VIEWED AS BEING PARTISAN
The judgment of Mrs Justice Moulder today in ECU Group PLC v HSBC Bank PLC & Ors [2021] EWHC 2875 (Comm) contains another example of the dangers of relying on expert evidence. The judge did not accept the evidence of…
LATE, AND BROAD, APPLICATION TO RELY ON EXPERT EVIDENCE REFUSED: HIGH COURT DECISION
In BES Commercial Electricity Ltd & Ors v Cheshire West & Chester Council [2021] EWHC 2820 (QB) Mr Justice Calver refused a very late application to adduce expert evidence. The commentary in relation to witness statements is also interesting. The…
EXPERT EVIDENCE – UNDERSTANDING THE BASICS AND AVOIDING THE PITFALLS: WEBINAR 20th OCTOBER 2020
The last few months have seen a large number of cases where expert evidence has proved highly problematic (usually for the party calling the expert in question). On the 20th October 2021 I am giving a webinar “Expert Evidence –…
GRIFFITHS -V- TUI IN THE COURT OF APPEAL 3: THE CLAIMANT DID NOT HAVE A FAIR TRIAL: THE COURTS SHOULD NOT ALLOW LITIGATION BY AMBUSH: THE DISSENTING JUDGMENT
This is the third post about the Court of Appeal decision in Griffiths v Tui (UK) Ltd [2021] EWCA Civ 1442. Here we look at the dissenting judgment of Lord Justice Bean. That judgment sets out, in clear and robust…
GRIFFITHS -v- TUI IN THE COURT OF APPEAL 2: THE OTHER GROUNDS OF APPEAL: AN EXPERT’S REPORT WITHOUT REASONING IS “ALL BUT WORTHLESS”
This is the second post about the Court of Appeal decision in Griffiths v Tui (UK) Ltd [2021] EWCA Civ 1442. Here we look at the other grounds of appeal considered by the majority. In particular an expert’s duty to state…
GRIFFITHS -v- TUI IN THE COURT OF APPEAL (1): JUDGES AND EXPERTS: THE COURT IS NOT A RUBBER STAMP
This is the first of a series of posts that consider the Court of Appeal judgment in Griffiths v Tui (UK) Ltd [2021] EWCA Civ 1442. That decision has considerable practical consequences for experts and any litigator commissioning or challenging…
NO MATTER HOW BIG YOU ARE, OR HOW IMPORTANT (YOU THINK) YOU ARE – YOU HAVE TO COMPLY WITH THE RULES: SECRETARY OF STATE REFUSED PERMISSION TO RELY ON EXPERT EVIDENCE
In Good Law Project Ltd, R (On the Application Of) v Secretary of State for Health and Social Care [2021] EWHC 2595 (TCC) Mr Justice Fraser issued a clear and stark warning that expert evidence has to comply with the…
EXPERTS GIVING EVIDENCE IS “NOT A GAME”: £1.4 MILLION VALUATION FOUND TO BE £3,230
Another interesting part of the judgment of ICC Judge Barber in CSB 123 Ltd, Re [2021] EWHC 2506 (Ch) is the judge’s findings in relation to the expert evidence. It is rare for a judge to state to an expert witness…