“THE DEFENDANTS DID NOT TAKE THE DIRECTIONS SERIOUSLY ENOUGH”: ANOTHER RELIEF FROM SANCTIONS CASE
In Otuo v The Watch Tower Bible And Tract Society of Britain (Relief from Sanctions 1) [2019] EWHC 341 (QB) Mr Justice Warby granted the defendant relief from sanctions. However the observations made in relation to the conduct of litigation are…
DEFAULT JUDGMENT SET ASIDE, RELIEF FROM SANCTIONS GRANTED: ACTION THEN STRUCK OUT: REMEMBERING THE BASIC OBLIGATION TO FILE A DEFENCE – ON TIME
In Workman v Deansgate 123 LLP [2019] EWHC 360 (QB) Mr Justice William Davis allowed an application to set aside a default judgment and relief from sanctions. The most surprising procedural aspect of this case is the defendant’s failure to file…
LIMITATION AND INHERITANCE ACT CLAIMS: SOMETHING TO WATCH CAREFULLY: AGREEING “LIMITATION AMNESTY” MAY NOT BE POSSIBLE
NB – THESE COMMENTS ON THE POWER TO AGREE AN AMNESTY WERE DOUBTED BY THE COURT OF APPEAL SEE THE POST HERE In Cowan v Foreman & Ors [2019] EWHC 349 (Fam) Mr Justice Mostyn set out some importance principles in…
IF YOU ARE AT TRIAL AND HAVEN’T PAID THE TRIAL FEE: STRIKE OUT IS AUTOMATIC: A FORMAL APPLICATION FOR RELIEF FROM SANCTIONS NEEDS TO BE MADE
In Hyslop -v- 38/41 CHG Residents Company Limited [2018] EWHC 3893 (QB) Mr Justice Freedman considered a case in which the fact that a claimant had not paid the trial fee only came to light at the trial itself. …
DEFENDANTS REFUSED RELIEF FROM SANCTIONS: INADEQUATE EXPLANATIONS WILL NOT SUFFICE
In Consult II SRO & Ors v Shire Warwick Lewis Capital Ltd & Ors [2019] EWHC 286 (Comm) Andrew Henshaw QC (sitting as a High Court Judge) refused the defendants’ application for relief from sanctions. The lack of a candid explanation…
“IF EVER THERE WERE A CASE IN WHICH THE COURT SHOULD REFUSE TO EXERCISE ITS DISCRETION IN FAVOUR OF GIVING THE CLAIMANTS ANY FURTHER INDULGENCE, THIS IS IT”
The judgment in Jetly & Anor v The Secretary of State for the Home Department [2019] EWHC 204 (Admin) sets out a series of surprising events. Mrs Justice Andrews came down very firmly against granting relief from sanctions. Many of the…
RELIEF FROM SANCTIONS GRANTED WHEN WITNESS STATEMENT SERVED LATE: DECISION UPHELD ON APPEAL
In Petrou v Lambrou (t/a KCJ Builders) [2019] EWHC 166 (Comm) Mr Justice Freedman upheld the decision of a circuit judge who granted the defendant relief from sanctions when a witness statement was served late. Interestingly the judge, on appeal, exercised…
FRESH PROCEEDINGS CAN BE ISSUED IF FIRST PROCEEDINGS ON BEHALF OF THE DECEASED WERE A NULLITY: DENTON CONSIDERED
In the judgment today in Hutson & Anor, The Personal Representatives of v Tata Steel UK Ltd [2019] EWHC 143 (QB) Mr Justice Turner considered several points relating to the ability of those acting on behalf of an estate to…
ORDER GRANTING TIME TO EXTEND SERVICE SET ASIDE: THE DEEMED DATE FOR SERVICE OF THE CLAIM FORM: A BLAST FROM THE PAST: STILL APPLIES TO SERVICE ABROAD
The judgment in Punjab National Bank (International) Ltd v Srinivasan & Ors [2019] EWHC 89 (Ch) contains two interesting lessons (i) a court can always set aside an order extending time for service of proceedings; (ii) the “old” rules relating to…
THE SPI NORTH (NON-ADMISSION IN PLEADING CASE) IN THE COURT OF APPEAL: THE SECOND POINT: COMPELLING EVIDENCE NEEDED AND NO SATELLITE LITIGATION PLEASE
Yesterday’s post on SPI North Ltd v Swiss Post International (UK) Ltd & Anor [2019] EWCA Civ 7 concentrated upon the Court of Appeal guidance in relation to the drafting of a pleading. However the second point on which the claimant’s appeal …
TIME FOR APPEALING: ANOTHER TRICKY POINT TO WATCH: TIME RUNS FROM THE DATE OF THE DECISION AND NOT ANY LATER DATE: A HELPFUL GUIDE TO THE PROCEDURE TO BE FOLLOWED
In McDonald v Rose & Ors [2019] EWCA Civ 4 the Court of Appeal highlighted an important point in relation to the time for appealing. Time for appealing runs from the date that the decision is given, not a later date….
“DENTON” PRINCIPLES DO NOT APPLY TO SECTION 33 APPLICATIONS: HIGH COURT REJECTS DEFENDANT’S ARGUMENT THAT RELIEF FROM SANCTIONS PRINCIPLES SHOULD BE APPLIED TO LIMITATION ACT
In Ellis v Heart of England NHS Foundation Trust & Ors [2018] EWHC 3505 (Ch) HHJ McKenna (sitting in the High Court) roundly rejected an argument that the court should apply “Denton” type guidance to a claimant’s application to disapply the…
NON-SERVICE OF THE CLAIM FORM: MORE CLAIMANTS DICING WITH PROCEDURAL DEATH (AND LOSING): JUDGE REFUSES TO PUSH THE ENVELOPE
I am grateful to David Turner QC for sending me a copy of the judgment in HHJ Klein (sitting as a High Court judge) in Capital Alternatives Sales and Marketing Ltd v Nabas & Ors [2018] EWHC 3345 (Comm). This is…
CLAIMANT CANNOT ENTER JUDGMENT AFTER ACKNOWLEDGEMENT OF SERVICE IS FILED LATE: DENTON PRINCIPLES APPLIED TO GRANT DEFENDANT EXTENSION OF TIME TO DISPUTE THE JURISDICTION
The judgment in Cunico Resources NV & Ors v Daskalakis & Anor [2018] EWHC 3382 (Comm) addresses several procedural issues. Firstly the much debated question of whether a claimant can obtain judgment when the defendant has acknowledged service late. Mr Justice…
“THIS IS AN ARCHETYPAL CASE WHERE IT WOULD NOT BE APPROPRIATE TO GRANT RELIEF FROM SANCTIONS”: ANOTHER LATE COSTS BUDGET CASE
The judgment OF Mr Justice Bryan in BMCE Bank International Plc v Phoenix Commodities PVT Ltd & Anor [2018] EWHC 3380 (Comm) provides, as the judge noted, an archetypal example of the way not to go about cost budgeting, coupled with…
LATE SERVICE OF THE PARTICULARS OF CLAIM AND ACCOMPANYING DOCUMENTATION: IT MAY STILL BE DANGEROUS – AND HERE’S WHY
We have looked twice already at the judgment in Mark v Universal Coatings & Services Ltd & Anor [2018] EWHC 3206 (QB). One of the key findings in that case was that the claimant, who had served the particulars of claim, medical…
SERVICE OF THE CLAIM FORM: WHERE THINGS CAN GO WRONG FOR THE DEFENDANT: RELIEF FROM SANCTIONS REFUSED
There are numerous cases reported on this blog where issues relating to service of the claim form have gone wrong for claimants. However, as we have recently seen, a failure to respond accurately and timeously to claim form issues can…
ACTION SHOULD NOT HAVE BEEN STRUCK OUT: DENTON PRINCIPLES NOT ENGAGED IN FAILING TO SERVE PARTICULARS OF CLAIM AND MEDICAL REPORT
In the judgment today in Mark v Universal Coatings & Services Ltd & Anor [2018] EWHC 3206 (QB) Mr Justice Martin Spencer allowed an appeal against an action being struck out. The case has many procedural complexities. Here we look at…
APPLYING FOR RELIEF FROM SANCTIONS: 14 KEY POINTS TO HELP EASE THE STRAIN
There was a nice tweet earlier today from pupil barrister Miranda Grell explaining she had just appeared in her first relief from sanctions application and had found this blog useful. This reminded me that it may be a good time…
LITIGATION IS A TOUGH WORLD: IF YOU MAKE MISTAKES: GET HELP – PLEASE
The decision of the Administrative Court in Solicitors Regulation Authority v James [2018] EWHC 3058 (Admin) has already received wide publication. The Court overturned a decision of the Solicitors Disciplinary Tribunal not to strike off solicitors who had been dishonest. It…
AN APPLICATION TO SET ASIDE A WITHOUT NOTICE ORDER IS NOT SUBJECT TO “TIBBLES” CRITERIA: SOMETIMES DENTON DOES NOT APPLY – OR SHOULD NOT BE APPLIED
There is a short passage in the judgment of Mr Justice Pepperall in Berhad v Frazer-Nash Research Ltd & Anor [2018] EWHC 2970 (QB) in relation to late service of evidence before an interlocutory hearing. The judge held that the Denton…
NON COMPLIANCE WITH PEREMPTORY ORDERS: STRIKING OUT; LATE ATTEMPTS TO COMPLY; LATE “ACCEPTANCE” OF PART 36 OFFERS AND NO RELIEF FROM SANCTIONS: ALL LITIGATION LIFE IS HERE
In Devoy-Williams -v- High Cartwright & Amin [2018] EWHC 2815 (Ch) Mrs Justice Falk upheld a decision that an action was struck out and that relief from sanctions should not be granted. It is a reminder (amongst other things) of…
NEW WITNESS STATEMENTS AND EXPERT EVIDENCE NOT ALLOWED: DENTON APPLIED TO CASE MANAGEMENT: COMPLIANCE WITH DIRECTIONS IS THE ONLY SAFE OPTION
In SJ Moore (Jeweller) Limited -v- Squibb Group Limited [2018] EWHC 2731 (QB) Denton principles were considered and applied when the defendant wanted to adduce new evidence. What is notable here is the fact that the defendant had the expert…
SANCTIONS AND COSTS BUDGETS: A “PARTIAL” BUDGET DOES NOT COMPLY WITH THE RULES BUT A “PARTIAL” SUCCESS FOR THE CLAIMANT ON APPEAL
In the judgment today in Page v RGC Restaurants Ltd [2018] EWHC 2688 (QB) Mr Justice Walker allowed an appeal in relation to the sanctions imposed when a claimant failed to file an costs budget that complied with the rules. The…
PROPORTIONALITY: A LITIGATOR’S SURVIVAL GUIDE VIII: PROPORTIONALITY LEADS TO BASE COSTS BEING REDUCED FROM £115,906.00 TO £75,000
I am grateful to my colleague Robin Dunne for sending me a copy of the decision of HHJ Auerbach in Reynolds -v- One Stop Limited (21st September 2018). A copy of the judgment is available A79YM916 Reynolds v One Stop…
AVOIDING PROCEDURAL PITFALLS – AND PUTTING THEM RIGHT: WEBINAR 6th DECEMBER 2018: HELPING LITIGATORS SLEEP SOUNDLY AT NIGHT…
On the 6th December I am presenting a webinar “Avoiding Procedural Pitfalls and Putting Them Right”. The aim is to look at the key problem areas of civil procedure, how to avoid problems and how to rectify problems if things…
RELIEF FROM SANCTIONS REQUIRED WHEN RESPONDENT’S NOTICE SERVED LATE: DENTON CONSIDERED
In Livewest Homes Ltd v Bamber [2018] EWHC 2454 (QB) Mr Justice Dingemans considered the issue of relief from sanctions when a Respondent’s Notice was served late. It is a useful reminder of the importance of serving a respondent’s notice and…
DENTON DECISIONS – AN INVALUABLE RESOURCE: RELIEF FROM SANCTIONS – A THEMATIC GUIDE UPDATED
I have written before about the invaluable resource provided by The Denton Resource. This has now been updated and is available following the link here. Congratulations to barrister Rachel Segal who took on this painstaking task. The Resource is a…
APPLYING FOR AN EXTENSION OF TIME FOR FILING A DEFENCE – AFTER THE DEFENCE IS DUE: DENTON PRINCIPLES APPLIED: FULL TRANSCRIPT NOW AVAILABLE
The judgment of Deputy Master Pickering in Billington v Davies & Anor [2016] EWHC 1919 (Ch) has only recently appeared on BAILLI. It raises an interesting issue of how the courts should approach the question of a late application to extend…
CIVIL PROCEDURE: BACK TO BASICS 10: CHALLENGING THE AUTHENTICITY OF DOCUMENTS MUST BE DONE PROMPTLY: COURT REFUSES LATE APPLICATION – DENTON CRITERIA APPLIED
There is a short addendum to the judgment of Lionel Persey QC (sitting as a High Court Judge) in Lloyd v Kruger [2018] EWHC 2011 (Comm). This deals with a very late application by the claimant to assert that documents were…
BREACHING THE RULES, RELIEF FROM SANCTIONS, PERMISSION TO APPEAL AND THE CORRECT JUDGE TO HEAR THE APPEAL
There is much for the litigator to ponder in the Court of Appeal judgment in Broughal v Walsh Brothers Builders Ltd & Anor [2018] EWCA Civ 1610. Firstly how did the claimant come to be in a position when it breached…
“CHANGE IN THE LAW” JUSTIFIES EXTENSION OF TIME: DENTON CONSIDERED IN THE COURT OF APPEAL
The Denton principles were considered by the Court of Appeal in QR (Pakistan), R (on the application of) v The Secretary of State for the Home Department [2018] EWCA Civ 1413. The fact that a subsequent judgment of the Supreme…
WHEN IS A REPORT NOT A MEDICAL REPORT? RELIEF FROM SANCTIONS GRANTED WHEN CLAIMANT FAILED TO SERVE A “MEDICAL REPORT” WITH THE PARTICULARS OF CLAIM
In a judgment given today at Leeds County Court His Honour Judge Gosnell held that a claimant, seeking damages for industrial deafness, breached the rules when issuing by not serving a medical report but serving an “AMR” report. The judge,…
5th BIRTHDAY REVIEW 4: AVOIDING PROBLEMS AFTER MITCHELL: LIVING IN THE SHADOW OF THE BIKE
It is universally recognised that the Court of Appeal judgment in Mitchell was a mistake. The Master of the Rolls stated that the decision in Mitchell decision led to a “febrile atmosphere” leading to “unreasonable decision making”. There were 219…
THE IMPORTANCE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN PROSPECTIVE AND RETROSPECTIVE APPLICATIONS TO EXTEND TIME: THE IMPORTANCE OF THE DATE OF THE APPLICATION
This post is caused by a search term that arrived on this blog today “Is an application for an extension of time an application for relief from sanctions?”. The short answer to that is – it depends. An application made after…
JUDICIALLY REVIEWING THE COUNTY COURT: PROCEDURAL CONFUSION, UNPLEADED POINTS AND THE HIGH STANDARD TO BE MET WHEN ATTEMPTING TO JUDICIALLY REVIEW A COUNTY COURT DECISION
There are many matters of interest in the short judgment of Mr Justice Turner in Watkins, R (On the Application Of) v Newcastle Upon Tyne County Court [2018] EWHC 1029, a rare example of a party trying to judicially review a…
DENTON PRINCIPLES APPLIED TO A CASE WHERE A CLAIMANT FAILED TO GET PERMISSION TO ISSUE PROCEEDINGS
Although the Denton principles are much more settled it is prudent to keep a weather eye on cases where they are considered. His Honour Judge Davis-White QC (sitting as a judge of the Chancery Division in Leeds) applied the Denton principles in a…
LATE SKELETON ARGUMENTS AND LATE EVIDENCE: THE GOVERNMENT SHOULD DO BETTER: DIVISIONAL COURT DECISION: A TEXTBOOK EXAMPLE OF WHAT NOT TO SAY AND DO
In The National Council for Civil Liberties (Liberty), R (On the Application Of) v Secretary of State for the Home Department & Anor (Procedural Matters) [2018] HC 976 (Admin) the Divisional Court took care to file a supplemental judgment that dealt…
RELIEF FROM SANCTIONS : A CLASSIC CASE FOR RELIEF TO BE GRANTED: NOTICE TO PROVE SERVED LATE
In Tuke v JD Classics Ltd [2018] EWHC 531 (QB) Mr Justice Julian Knowles granted a claimant relief from sanctions when a “Notice to Prove” was served late. It is a reminder, amongst other things, of the need to serve a…
LATE SERVICE OF NOTICE OF FUNDING AND RELIEF FROM SANCTIONS: THIS DOES NOT END WELL FOR THE CLAIMANT: COURT OF APPEAL DECISION
In the judgment today in Springer v University Hospitals of Leicester NHS Trust [2018] EWCA Civ 436 the Court of Appeal upheld a decision that refused to give relief from sanctions following late service of notice of funding. The case shows…
THE DENTON PRINCIPLES: CAN YOU BLAME A REPRESENTATIVE? SHOULD LITIGANTS IN PERSON BE TREATED MORE LENIENTLY?
The Denton principles were considered by the First-Tier Tribunal Tax Chamber in Clarke v Revenue and Customs (PROCEDURE : Other) [2018] UKFTT 123 (TC). Here we look at two particular parts of the judgment: (i) the relevance of reliance on an…
COURT OF APPEAL UPHOLDS REFUSAL OF EXTENSION OF TIME IN FOREIGN JUDGMENTS CASE: JUDGMENT TODAY
A post in 2015 looked at the decision in In Christofi -v- National Bank of Greece (Cyprus) Ltd [2015] EWHC 986 (QB) Mrs Justice Andrews DBE held that there were very limited grounds for extending time in an appeal against the registration of…
LITIGATORS – MISSED A DEADLINE? DON’T DIG BIGGER HOLES FOR YOURSELF: DIG YOURSELF OUT (WITH A LITTLE HELP FROM YOUR FRIENDS)
The decision in Wingate & Anor v The Solicitors Regulation Authority [2018] EWCA Civ 366 may well be Jackson L.J’s last judgment (certainly as a full time judge). It concerned the conduct of solicitors. I want to look at one aspect…
SIR RUPERT JACKSON ON THE DAY OF HIS RETIREMENT: A REVIEW OF SOME JUDGMENTS ON PROCEDURE
It is well known that Sir Rupert Jackson retires on the 7th March. There are several reviews of the work Sir Rupert has done in re-shaping civil procedure. Here I want to look at a few of his judgments that…
DENTON APPLIED TO LATE APPEAL: SUBMITTING SUBMISSIONS AFTER A HEARING AND THE NEED FOR CAUTION WHEN SEEKING DAMAGES UNDER THE HUMAN RIGHTS ACT
In Fayad, R (On the Application Of) v The Secretary of State for the Home Department [2018] EWCA Civ 54 the Court of Appeal applied the Denton principles to a late appeal. Permission to appeal was refused. Mr Justice Singh had…
DENTON CONSIDERED: ADDITIONAL ALLEGATIONS MADE IN RELATION TO A SOLICITOR FORGING A WITNESS STATEMENT
The Denton criteria were considered by Mr Justice Sweeney in Liverpool Victoria Insurance Company Ltd v Khan & Ors [2018] EWHC 94 (QB). These were considered in an an unusual context. There are allegations (and it must be stressed that these…
THE PERILOUS STRATEGY OF SERVING EVIDENCE LATE: DENTON APPLIES: A RELEVANT FACTOR IN A SUMMARY JUDGMENT APPLICATION
The case of Crown House Technologies Ltd v Cardiff Commissioning Ltd & Anor [2018] EWHC 54 (TCC) highlights the dangers of waiting to serve evidence until the last moment. If it is served late then a party requires permission of the…
DENTON APPLIED WHEN THE OTHER SIDE DOES NOT SHOW UP FOR TRIAL
In Foreman v Williams [2017] EWHC 3370 (QB) Peter Marquand (sitting as a High Court judge) considered the application of the Denton principles in an unusual context. The claimant required relief from sanctions because he was unable to serve documents on…
CIVIL LITIGATION AND THE MARTIAL ARTS: MCGANN -V- BISPING: ROUND 3: LATE WITNESS STATEMENTS AND “IMPLICIT” ORDERS FOR RELIEF FROM SANCTIONS
We have already looked twice at the “sparring” arguments in relation to procedure in the case of McGann v Bisping [2017] EWHC 2951 (Comm). A further procedural issue arose as to whether a party was debarred from calling evidence at all. The…
RELIEF FROM SANCTIONS NOT GRANTED WHEN CLAIMANT ISSUES IN BREACH OF CIVIL RESTRAINT ORDER
In Couper v Irwin Mitchell LLP & Ors [2017] EWHC 3231 (Ch) Mr Justice Arnold refused the claimant’s application for relief from sanctions when the claimant had issued proceedings in breach of a civil restraint order. The claimant, however, was given…
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