SERVICE OF CLAIM FORM VALID WHEN LEFT WITH RECEPTIONIST: A CAVITY IN THE DEFENDANT’S SUBMISSIONS
Some interesting points as to the validity of the service of the claim form were raised by the defendant in Bec Construction -v- Melt Hythe Limited [2020] EWHC 970 TCC. The defendant’s arguments were, however, to no avail. Mrs Justice…
WOULD YOU BELIEVE IT? ANOTHER CASE WHEN CLAIM FORM WRONGLY SERVED : CLAIMANT “SERVED” ON SOLICITORS WHO DID NOT HAVE INSTRUCTIONS TO ACCEPT SERVICE
In the judgment in Gallagher v Hallows Associates [2020] EW Misc 7 (CC) HHJ Jarman QC found that a defendant had been wrongly served when it was sent to solicitors who did not state they had instructions to accept service. This…
WHEN YOU MUST AND WHEN YOU CAN’T SERVE PROCEEDINGS ON THE CLIENT’S SOLICITOR (ESSENTIAL KNOWLEDGE)
The judgment yesterday in Piepenbrock v Associated Newspapers Ltd & Ors [2020] EWHC 1708 gives rise to that familiar issue of when a party can, and cannot, serve on the defendant’s solicitor. No apologies are made for repeating the rules here. …
ANOTHER FAILED CLAIM FORM SERVICE CASE: SERVICE ON SOLICITORS NOT NOMINATED WAS INVALID: SERVICE BY EMAIL ALSO INVALID
The judgment of Mr Justice Nicklin today in Piepenbrock v Associated Newspapers Ltd & Ors [2020] EWHC 1708is (yet) another action that failed because of incorrect service of the claim form. “This is another case about the problems that can…
SERVICE OF THE CLAIM FORM: WHAT CAN POSSIBLY GO WRONG? TEN SIMPLE POINTS TO MAKE LIFE EASIER & TO CAP OFF THE BANK HOLIDAY WEEKEND
Service of the claim form remain a major cause of problems. Here we re-cap (not for the first time) on the basic causes of many of the problems, with links through to the many posts on this subject. This post…
COVID REPEATS 27: AVOIDING A SERIOUS TRAP: WHEN (AND WHEN NOT TO) SERVE THE CLAIM FORM ON A SOLICITOR: (YOU REALLY HAVE TO KNOW THIS)
The post yesterday on service of the claim form has caused a slight change of plan for this series. Today we are going to look again at the rules relating to service of the claim form on a solicitor. We have…
SERVICE OF THE CLAIM FORM: CLAIMANT SURVIVES “BY THE SKIN OF THEIR TEETH”: SOME IMPORTANT LESSONS TO LEARN HERE
Every year brings its own crop of service of the claim form cases. This year is no different. In Oran Environmental Solutions Ltd & Anor v QBE Insurance (Europe) Ltd & Anor [2020] EWHC 1271 (Comm) Mrs Justice Cockerill observed…
SERVING PROCEEDINGS: COURT OF APPEAL REFUSE GOOSE’S APPEAL : THE DANGERS OF OVERLOOKING THE BASIC OBLIGATION TO SERVE
In Canada Goose UK Retail Ltd & Anor v Unknown Persons [2020] EWCA Civ 303 the Court of Appeal upheld the judge’s decision not to grant the claimant any kind of relief due to a failure to properly serve the…
RECOGNISING THAT 99.8% OF LITIGATORS ARE STARK RAVING BONKERS: (A REPOST)
This is post that was originally written in May 2014. It followeda talk I gave in Leeds “How to get sued, Make a Loss and be Miserable”. It led to the sharing of ideas between the 40 litigators who attended. …
FIRST CLAIM FORM CASE OF THE YEAR: SERVICE WITHOUT A SEAL IS NOT GOOD SERVICE BUT CPR 3.10 SAVED THE CLAIMANT
NB THE USE OF CPR 3.10 IS MOST PROBABLY NOT AN EFFECTIVE STRATEGY FOLLOWING THE COURT OF APPEAL JUDGMENT IN Ideal Shopping Direct Ltd & Ors v Mastercard Incorporated & Ors [2022] EWCA Civ 14. It took until the 31st January…
SERVICE OF THE CLAIM FORM ON A SOLICITOR (NOT THE FIRST TIME I’VE WRITTEN ABOUT THIS AND PROBABLY NOT THE LAST…)
Every so often, but sometimes I think not often enough, I write posts on the dangers relating to service of the claim form. Here is a quick reminder about the basic principles of serving on a solicitor. This post has…
2019 AND CIVIL PROCEDURE – THE YEAR IN REVIEW (2): SERVICE OF THE CLAIM FORM (AND ALLIED ISSUES)
The one “certainty” about writing about civil procedure is that every year there will be a few (often more than few)cases about service of the claim form. This is always a fruitful source of difficulty for claimants. The causes of…
CIVIL PROCEDURE AND COSTS: BLOG AND ARTICLES ROUND UP – NOVEMBER 2019
Here we have links to blogs and articles about civil procedure and costs from November 2019. COSTS Costs Barrister Blaming others Costs Barrister The undiscovered country Herbert Smith Freehills Court of Appeal confirms jurisdiction to award claimant interim payment on account of costs…
SERVICE OF THE PARTICULARS OF CLAIM AND THE “TRAP FOR THE UNWARY CLAIMANT”: THE TRAP OPERATED AND RELIEF FROM SANCTIONS NOT GRANTED
The judgment of Chief Master Marsh today in Maggistro-Contenta & Anor v O’Shea & Anor [2019] EWHC 3035 (Ch) is a prime example of difficulties being caused because of a mistake in relation to the rules relating to service. It…
“IF COURT PROCEEDINGS ARE SERVED ON A SOLICITOR WITHOUT AUTHORITY – IS THAT GOOD SERVICE?”: A QUESTION WITH AN EASY ANSWER
“If court proceedings are served on a solicitor without authority is that good service” was a search that led to this blog yesterday. This is a question with a very easy answer. This blog has looked at this issue several…
CIVIL PROCEDURE BACK TO BASICS 65: THAT NIGHTMARE SCENARIO WHERE THE COURT HAS ISSUED THE CLAIM FORM BUT YOU CAN’T SERVE IT
Here I want to isolate one aspect of the judgment in AAA -v- Rakoff [2019] EWHC 2525 (QB) that was easy to miss amidst all the features of that case. The fact that the court can issue proceedings and hold onto…
SERVICE OF THE CLAIM FORM: FAILURE TO SERVE ANY DEFENDANTS WHEN APPLYING FOR AN INJUNCTION: THE GOOSE IS NOT PROPERLY COOKED…
In Canada Goose UK Retail Ltd v Persons Unknown & Anor [2019] EWHC 2459 (QB) Mr Justice Nicklin refused the claimants’ application for an injunction on several grounds. Here we look at the issues relating to service of the claim…
SERVICE OF CLAIM FORM BY WHATSAPP: A CASE IN POINT: SERVICE BY SOCIAL MEDIA AND EMAIL
In Gray v Hurley [2019] EWHC 1636 (QB) the court allowed service of the claim form by Whatsapp message. THE CASE The hearing was a dispute about jurisdiction. The claimant issued proceedings and obtained an order for service on the…
AVOIDING NEGLIGENCE CLAIMS IN LITIGATION 9: SERVICE OF THE CLAIM FORM (3): SERVICE AT THE LAST KNOWN ADDRESS
Staying with issues relating to service of the claim form we are looking at another common source of error – service at the “last known address”. The key point here is that a claimant cannot simply serve at the “last…
AVOIDING NEGLIGENCE CLAIMS IN LITIGATION 8: SERVICE OF THE CLAIM FORM (2) – SERVICE ON SOLICITORS (OR NOT)
We have looked at the problem of service on solicitors many times, including several cases where claimants have come to grief. Anyone proposing to serve on a solicitor must know the basic rules. In some circumstances it is mandatory to…
AVOIDING NEGLIGENCE CLAIMS IN LITIGATION 7: SERVICE OF THE CLAIM FORM (1) – TIME (SIT UP AND PAY ATTENTION NOW NON-PI LAWYERS)
The previous post in this series have been primarily of interest to personal injury lawyers. Matters relating to service of the claim form relate to virtually all litigators. Indeed the majority of disputed cases in relation to service appear to…
WHY DEFENDANTS HAVE TO KNOW THE RULES ABOUT SERVICE AND JURISDICTION AND ACT PROMPTLY: YOU’LL FIND YOURSELVES MAKING AN APPLICATION FOR RELIEF FROM SANCTIONS
The judgment today in Babcock Marine (Clyde) Ltd v HS Barrier Coatings Ltd [2019] EWHC 1659 (TCC) highlights the need for defendants to be prompt if they are making an application in relation to service or jurisdiction. CPR 11 gives…
EXTENSION OF TIME FOR SERVICE SET ASIDE: THE DANGERS OF SEEKING TO EXTEND THE LIFE OF A CLAIM FORM ON A WITHOUT NOTICE BASIS – EXEMPLIFIED
In Al-Zahra (PVT) Hospital & Ors v DDM [2019] EWCA Civ 1103 the Court of Appeal allowed an appeal by defendants who objected to an extension of time being granted for service of the claim form. It is an object…
SERVING ON NOMINATED SOLICITORS: WHEN, WHERE AND WHY: TRYING TO STAY OUT OF TROUBLE
This is not the first time I have written about the need for care when serving the claim form on solicitors. I suspect it won’t be the last. The cases just keep on coming.The Court of Appeal decision in Woodward &…
CLAIMANT LAWYERS: YOU MUST KNOW THE RULES RELATING TO SERVICE OF THE CLAIM FORM: YOU CAN’T EXPECT THE DEFENDANT TO HELP YOU OUT
One guarantee for anyone writing about civil procedure is that there will be a regular supply of what Master McCloud has described as ” a dry and unlovely crop of procedural service issues”, The Court of Appeal decision in Woodward…
ANOTHER CLAIM FORM CASE: SERVICE AT “LAST KNOWN ADDRESS” FAILS: SERVICE BASED ON COMPANIES ACT SUCCEEDS
Cases on the last known address for service seem to come along like buses – a few at at time. The issue was considered by Mr Richard Salter QC (setting as a Deputy Judge of the High Court) in Idemia…
SERVICE OF THE CLAIM FORM: DANGERS OF SERVING AT THE LAST KNOWN ADDRESS (2019)
It is difficult for a month, sometimes a week, to pass without there being a service of the claim form case. The issue of service was central to the decision of Mr Justice Martin Spencer in Brayshaw -v- Partners of…
SERVICE, THE CLAIM FORM AND DENTON: THE COURT WOULD NOT TAKE THE HUMP WHEN DOCUMENTS WERE NOT SERVED: NEITHER SERIOUS OR SIGNIFICANT
In Ablynx NV & Anor v Vhsquared Ltd & Ors [2019] EWHC 792 (Pat) HHJ Hacon brushed aside the defendant’s objections in relation to service of the claim form. THE CASE The action was in relation to patents from an…
“LAST KNOWN ADDRESS” : CLAIMANT HAD TAKEN REASONABLE STEPS : EXTENSION OF TIME TO SERVE CLAIM FORM UPHELD
In Colley V Shuker & Ors [2019] EWHC 781 (QB) Mrs Justice O’Farell upheld an order extending time for service of the claim form. The judgment considers, but does not decide, whether the claimant had taken reasonable steps to establish…
BANKRUPTCY PETITION NOT SERVED PROPERLY: BANKRUPTCY NOT ANNULLED
There may well be a disturbance in the Force if there is not a service of the claim form case every few weeks. In Ardawa v Uppal & Anor [2019] EWHC 456 (Ch) Mr Justice Roth held that a judge could…
AN ANONYMOUS DRIVER CANNOT BE SUED: YOU’VE GOT TO HAVE SOMEWHERE TO SERVE…
In the judgment today Cameron v Liverpool Victoria Insurance Co Ltd [2019] UKSC 6 the Supreme Court overturned the Court of Appeal decision in relation to service when there is an unknown driver. The court cannot make an order that service…
CIVIL PROCEDURE BACK TO BASICS 31: SERVICE OF THE CLAIM FORM AT THE “LAST KNOWN ADDRESS”: FIVE KEY POINTS
Service at a defendant’s “last known address” is something that can be highly problematic. There are dangers in serving at an address unless you are wholly certain that the defendant still resides there. Here we look at the rules and…
SERVICE OF CLAIM FORM BY EMAIL ALLOWED: THE SAFEGUARDS TO RESPONDENTS TO WITHOUT NOTICE APPLICATIONS.
The case and issues in Linklaters LLP -v- Mellish [2019] EWHC 177 (QB) have already made the headlines. The procedural aspects of the decision are also of interest. Firstly Mr Justice Warby made an order allowing service of the claim form…
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 DEFENDANT’S “WRONG” APPLICATION TO DISPUTE JURISDICTION WAS STILL VALID: DEFENDANT ALLOWED EXTENSION OF TIME AND TO CORRECT APPLICATION
Twelve years ago, in Hoddinott and others v Persimmon Homes (Wessex) Limited [2007] EWCA Civ 1203; [2008] 1 WLR 806, the Court of Appeal held that the correct way for a defendant to challenge the validity of a claim form was to issue…
CLAIM FORM CASE IN THE COURT OF APPEAL: SERVICE OF CLAIM FORM BY UNAUTHORISED BODY DOES NOT RENDER SERVICE VOID (ALTHOUGH IT IS STILL NAUGHTY)
We have managed to get to the 15th day of the year without a service of the claim form case, to compensate for this there are two today. In Ndole Assets Ltd v Designer M&E Services UK Ltd [2018] EWCA Civ…
BACK TO BASICS 14: SERVICE OF THE CLAIM FORM ON A SOLICITOR
In the case I wrote about yesterday, Higgins & Ors v TLT LLP [2017] EWHC 3868 (Ch), the very basic errors made by the claimant’s solicitor in relation to service of the claim form were held to amount to “misconduct” (albeit in…
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…
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…
ANOTHER CASE OF SERVICE OF THE CLAIM FORM GOING AWRY: GO ON – DICE WITH PROCEDURAL DEATH: WHAT COULD POSSIBLY GO WRONG?
When lecturing at the Zenith Chambers personal injury course this Thursday I only offered one prediction for civil procedure: “I’ll be here next year talking about claim form cases reported over the previous 12 months where things have gone wrong.” …
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…
A CLAIM FORM CASE IN THE COURT OF APPEAL: GOOD NEWS FOR CLAIMANTS: STAY A WHILE AND FIND OUT
In the judgment today in Grant v Dawn Meats (UK) [2018] EWCA Civ 2212 the Court of Appeal held that an order staying an action also imposed a stay on the obligation to serve the claim form. The claim form was…
SHOULD PROCEEDINGS BE STRUCK OUT WHEN THEY ARE ISSUED AND SERVED BY AN UNAUTHORISED ENTITY? TWO CASES THAT AID THE CLAIMANT
The judgment of HHJ Worster In Kassam -v- Gill (13th August 2018, County Court at Birmingham) is available on Lawtel. There are several procedural aspects of that case that are of general interest and which I will look at over…
DON’T DELAY SERVICE OF THE CLAIM FORM JUST BECAUSE YOU DON’T HAVE THE PARTICULARS OF CLAIM: A NAIL IN THE COFFIN FOR CLAIMANTS WHO DECIDE TO WAIT
There is another aspect of the judgment in Phoenix Healthcare Distribution Ltd v Woodward & Anor [2018] EWHC 2152 (Ch) that needs highlighting. The lesson here is clear: you cannot delay service of the claim form on the grounds that you…
NO DUTY ON A PARTY TO INFORM AN OPPOSING PARTY THEY ARE MAKING AN ERROR: THE APPEAL JUDGMENT IN PHOENIX IN FULL:
I have already noted that the judgment at first instance in Woodward & Anor v Phoenix Healthcare Distribution Ltd [2018] EWHC 334 (Ch) has been overturned. The full appeal judgment is now available on BAILLI at [2018] EWHC 2152 (Ch), a decision of HH…
CIVIL PROCEDURE: BACK TO BASICS 11: THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN THE “DATE OF ISSUE FOR LIMITATION” PURPOSES AND THE “DATE OF ISSUE” FOR THE PURPOSES OF SERVICE
There were a number of search terms which led people to this blog today that related to the date of service and date of issue. The confusion is, perhaps, easy to understand The relevant date for limitation purposes is the date…
APPLICATION TO EXTEND TIME FOR SERVICE OF THE CLAIM FORM REFUSED: CLAIMANT’S CASE AGAINST THIS DEFENDANT GOES UP IN SMOKE…
In Viner -v- Volkswagen Group Limited [2018] EWHC 2006 (QB) Senior Master Fontaine refused the claimants’ application to extend time for service of the claim form. A link to the judgment is available from the Law Society Gazette article on…
THE DEFENDANT IS NOT THE CLAIMANT’S KEEPER: WOODWARD DECISION ON SERVICE OF THE CLAIM FORM OVERTURNED ON APPEAL: LEAVING SERVICE LATE IS SIMPLY COURTING DISASTER
There is a brief report on Lawtel this morning showing that the decision in Woodward & Anor v Phoenix Healthcare Distribution Ltd [2018] EWHC 334 (Ch) has been overturned on appeal. It highlights the dangers of leaving service of the claim form…
SERVICE OF THE CLAIM FORM: DEFENDANT’S LAST KNOWN ADDRESS: CLAIMANT’S “REASON TO BELIEVE”: A FEW POINTS TO WATCH
In Wards Solicitors v Hendawi [2018] EWHC 1907 (Ch) HHJ Paul Matthews (sitting as a judge of the High Court) considered the issue of whether a claimant had “reason to believe” that a defendant did not live at the address…
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