FAILURE TO COMPLY WITH THE RULES LEADS TO PARTS OF A CLAIMANT’S WITNESS STATEMENT BEING STRUCK OUT: COMPLY WITH THE RULES – OR ELSE
In Primavera Associates Ltd v Hertsmere Borough Council [2022] EWHC 1240 (Ch) HHJ Paul Matthews, sitting as a judge of the High Court, struck out parts of the claimant’s witness statement due to its failure to comply with the rules. …
WHY YOU SHOULDN’T BANK ON SUMMARY JUDGMENT: THE COURT SHOULD NOT CONDUCT A “MINI TRIAL” ON SUMMARY JUDGMENT APPLICATIONS
In Philipp v Barclays Bank UK Plc [2022] EWCA Civ 318 the Court of Appeal allowed an appeal against an order giving the defendant summary judgment in favour of the defendant bank. The court emphasised that summary judgment applications should…
WHEN A PARTY FILES A WITNESS STATEMENT THAT DOES NOT COMPLY WITH THE RULES: THERE IS NO GOOD REASON AND THE PARTY IN DEFAULT PAYS A PRICE…
In the judgment today in Prime London Holdings 11 Ltd v Thurloe Lodge Ltd [2022] EWHC 79 (Ch) Mr Nicholas Thompsell (sitting as a Deputy Judge of the High Court) considered the appropriate response to a witness statement that failed…
ACTION STRUCK OUT WHEN CLAIMANT GIVES WRONG ADDRESS ON THE CLAIM FORM
I am grateful to solicitor Hamish Cameron Blackie for sending me a copy of the judgment of HHJ Bloom in Conlon -v- Ringway Infrastructure Services Ltd (County Court at Luton, 2nd December 2021) where the judge struck out an action…
CASE STRUCK OUT DUE TO CLAIMANT’S INACTIVITY: YOU CAN’T “WAREHOUSE” A COURT ACTION
In Alfozan v Quastel Midgen LLP [2022] EWHC 66 (Comm) HHJ Pearce (sitting as a High Court judge) struck out an action on the grounds of the claimant’s delay. The case had been “warehoused” and the claimant had not adduced…
“NO SERIOUS PRIVATE PAYING LITIGANT” WOULD CONTEMPLATE SPENDING £50,000 IN COSTS FOR A £3,000 CLAIM: ACTION SHOULD NEVER HAVE BEEN ISSUED IN THE HIGH COURT
In Johnson v Eastlight Community Homes Ltd [2021] EWHC 3069 (QB) Master Thornett accepted, in large part, a defendant’s application in a case where a claim for £3,000 had been issued in the High Court and the costs claimed by…
WHEN YOU HAVE TWO IDENTICAL ACTIONS ON THE GO AT ONCE: COURT CONSIDERS THIS AN ABUSE OF PROCESS
In Dixon v Santander Asset Finance Plc & Anor [2021] EWHC 1044 (Ch) HHJ Saffman (sitting as a High Court Judge) granted the defendant summary judgment on the basis that the claim against it was clearly statute barred. The judge…
WHEN JUDGE READS A DRAFT STATEMENT AND A FINAL STATEMENT (& THERE ARE SOME IMPORTANT DIFFERENCES): LITIGANT REFUSED PERMISSION TO RELY ON EVIDENCE THAT COULD HAVE BEEN BEFORE THE COURT AT THE ORIGINAL HEARING
The judgment of Mr Justice Francis in Brack v Brack [2020] EWHC 2142 (Fam) is an example of a case where the judge has the opportunity to see a draft statement and a final statement. The judge struck out an…
AN APPLICATION THAT WAS “OPPORTUNISTIC AND WITHOUT MERIT”: NON-PAYMENT OF THE COURT FEE WITHIN EXISTING PROCEEDINGS DOES NOT GIVE RISE TO A LIMITATION DEFENCE: JARNDYCE -v- JARNDYCE CONSIDERED IN THE COURT OF APPEAL
The issue of non-payment, or under-payment, of court fees was considered by the Court of Appeal in the judgment today in Butters & Anor v Hayes [2021] EWCA Civ 252. THE CASE During the course of an action the court…
YOU CANNOT USE A REPLY TO PLEAD MATTERS THAT SHOULD HAVE BEEN IN THE PARTICULARS OF CLAIM
About ten minutes ago I sent off the material for a webinar I am giving tomorrow on drafting statements of case. Inevitably, therefore, a new and relevant case arrived on BAILLI* [the material was subsequently amended to include this] . …
FAILURE TO COMPLY WITH CIVIL PROCEDURE RULES AND PAY CORRECT COURT FEE CAN (BUT DIDN’T) LEAD TO AN ACTION BEING STRUCK OUT
In Udeshi & Ors v Sieratzki [2021] EWHC 213 (Ch) Master Kaye considered an argument that a failure to pay the correct fee, and other breaches of the CPR, should lead to an action being struck out. Given that the…
MORE ON OPINION EVIDENCE IN WITNESS STATEMENTS: DEFENDANT’S STATEMENT LARGELY STRUCK OUT AS AN ABUSE
The judgment in Flaxby Park Ltd v Harrogate Borough Council [2020] EWHC 3204 (Admin) that was looked at yesterday referred to the earlier case of JD Wetherspoon plc v Harris [2013] 1 WLR 3296. Since that decision pre-dated this blog. I thought it…
STRIKING OUT A MULTI-PARTY CASE AS AN ABUSE OF PROCESS: WHEN CASE MANAGEMENT IS “AKIN TO TRYING TO BUILD A HOUSE OF CARDS IN A WIND TUNNEL”
Returning to the substantive issue in the judgment of Turner J in Município De Mariana & Ors v BHP Group Plc & Anor [2020] EWHC 2930 (TCC). The judge struck out the claims of 202,600 claimants on the grounds that…
SUMMARY JUDGMENT AND STRIKING OUT: COVID MATTERS ARE A GOOD REASON TO DETERMINE ISSUES NOT DELAY THEM
In TKC London Ltd v Allianz Insurance PLC [2020] EWHC 2710 (Comm) Mr Richard Salter QC (sitting as a High Court Judge) considered the issue of whether issues relating to the COVID pandemic should be a factor in considering a…
CIVIL LITIGATION BRIEF 25 YEARS AGO: A QUARTER OF A CENTURY OF CIVIL PROCEDURE
Nobody knew what a “blog” was 25 years ago. However at that time Civil Litigation Brief did exist, it was a monthly column in the Solicitors Journal. It is interesting to see how much (or how little) matters have moved…
CLAIM FOR DAMAGES STRUCK OUT: APPLICATION TO AMEND REFUSED: CLAIMANT FAILED TO USE THEIR LOAF AS CLAIM IS SLICED…
The judgment of Mrs Justice Jefford in The Leicester Bakery (Holdings) Ltd v Ridge And Partners LLP [2020] EWHC 2430 (TCC) shows the necessity of being able to particularise a claim for damages. What it demonstrates is that, in claims…
WITNESS EVIDENCE AND COUNTER-SCHEDULE STRUCK OUT AS INADMISSIBLE: THE PRINCIPLES APPLIED
In Rahman v Rahman & Ors [2020] EWHC 2392 (Ch) Master Clark struck out part of the defendants’ witness evidence and counter-schedule. The judgment provides a useful summary of when the court will strike out evidence and statements of case….
CASE WOULD NOT HAVE BEEN STRUCK OUT BECAUSE OF THE ABSENCE OF A LETTER BEFORE ACTION AND INCORRECT USE OF THE PART 8 PROCEDURE
In Halal Meat Sellers Committee Ltd & Anor v HMC (UK) Ltd [2020] EWHC 2190 (Comm) the court struck out the claimants’ claim as an abuse of process. It is interesting to note that the court indicated that there were…
PROVING THINGS 178: PROVING PREJUDICE: THE NEED FOR SPECIFIC EVIDENCE
There is another aspect of the Court of Appeal decision in Cable v Liverpool Victoria Insurance Co Ltd [2020] EWCA Civ 1015 that justifies closer examination. That is the court’s observations on the judge’s finding of prejudice. The Court of Appeal…
USING RTA PROTOCOL AND PART 8 PROCEDURE INAPPROPRIATELY DID NOT LEAD TO ACTION BEING STRUCK OUT: COURT OF APPEAL DECISION TODAY
The Court of Appeal today gave judgment in Cable v Liverpool Victoria Insurance Co Ltd [2020] EWCA Civ 1015 and overturned the decision to strike out an action because it had been issued inappropriately using the portal and Part 8…