A judge has discretion to grant relief from sanctions without a formal application or any application at all, Court of Appeal reaffirms- Farrar’s Building

‘In Park v Hadi and Another [2022] EWCA Civ 581, the Court of Appeal (Holroyde, Stuart-Smith and Warby LJJ), reaffirmed the principle that a judge may, of her own discretion, grant relief from sanctions without formal notice or without any application at all. The Court went on to issue guidance as to how this judicial discretion ought to be exercised, observing that a judge should always act in accordance with the overriding objective and will likely only exercise her discretion to grant relief sparingly.’

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Farrar's Building, 5th May 2022

Source: www.farrarsbuilding.co.uk

Revision and variation of costs budgets on account of significant developments: Consequences of failing to obtain the court’s approval – Guildhall Chambers

Posted May 19th, 2022 in budgets, civil procedure rules, costs, news by sally

‘Once a Costs Management Order (“CMO”) has been made, parties are required to revise costs budgets if significant developments in the litigation warrant such revisions. If the revised costs budgets are not agreed, the Court’s approval of the variations must be sought by the revising party. The requirements for revisions to costs budgets and approval by the Court were in 3PD Paragraph 7.6 and, following amendments in 2020, are now in CPR 3.15A under the heading “Revision and variation of costs budgets on account of significant developments (‘variation costs’)”.’

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Guildhall Chambers, 2nd May 2022

Source: www.guildhallchambers.co.uk

The Limits of Applications to Remove Litigation Friends – Shirazi v Susa [2022] EWHC 477 (Ch) – New Square Chambers

‘Jian Jun (JJ) Liew explores the practical implications for applications to remove litigation friends arising from the recent High Court case of Shirazi v Susa [2022] EWHC 477 (Ch).’

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New Square Chambers, 28th March 2022

Source: www.newsquarechambers.co.uk

Judge condemns “clearest breach” of witness statement rules – Legal Futures

Posted March 17th, 2022 in civil procedure rules, news, practice directions, witnesses by tracey

‘A High Court judge has condemned the “clearest case of failure to comply” with a new practice direction on witness statements that he had seen since it came into force last April.’

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Legal Futures, 17th March 2022

Source: www.legalfutures.co.uk

New rules to tackle offshore crypto crime – Law Society’s Gazette

‘New rules to help the courts trace cryptoassets overseas are being drawn up to deal with the increasing volume of litigation in this area, the master of the rolls revealed yesterday. “In the world of crypto fraud, there are no national barriers and unlawfully obtained cryptoassets can be difficult to trace,” Sir Geoffrey Vos told an audience of lawtech specialists in London.’

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Law Society's Gazette, 25th February 2022

Source: www.lawgazette.co.uk

Vos issues stern warning to chambers and law firms about embargoes – Legal Futures

‘The Court of Appeal has issued a stern warning about breaking embargoes on judgments after a leading chambers accidentally issued a press release a day before the ruling was handed down.’

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Legal Futures, 17th February 2022

Source: www.legalfutures.co.uk

Raising a criminal case in the civil courts – St John’s Chambers

‘Allegations of criminal behaviour are normally tried in the criminal courts. But where a crime is either not prosecuted, or cannot be proved beyond reasonable doubt, the question may end up being tried in a civil court, even where the allegation is as serious as it could be, such as murder. This may cause difficulties where the evidence relied upon has been obtained by a third party, such as a police force whether in England or abroad, and the claimant is not in a position to give a detailed account of the allegation until that evidence is available.’

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St John's Chambers, 1st February 2022

Source: www.stjohnschambers.co.uk

Novel consideration when balancing the imperatives of adjudication and litigation – Practical Law: Construction Blog

‘The court may order a stay of a claim pursuant to CPR 3.1(2)(f) where the claimant has previously been ordered to pay the defendant sums in satisfaction of an adjudicator’s decision and the claimant has not done so. That power is exercised, in part, with the “pay now argue later” ethos of the Construction Act 1996 in mind. The key decisions to date (which I discuss below) balance a party’s rights of access to the court against those broader policy objectives. This post looks at a case in which the TCC applied and expanded the case law in this area, RHP Merchants and Construction Ltd v Treforest Property Co Ltd.’

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Practical Law: Construction Blog, 2nd February 2022

Source: constructionblog.practicallaw.com

Case Comment: Lloyd v Google LLC [2021] UKSC 50 – UKSC Blog

‘In this post, Kenny Henderson and Alex Askew of CMS comment on the Supreme Court’s decision in Lloyd v Google LLC [2021] UKSC 50, which concerned whether a representative data protection action seeking damages for loss of control of personal data could be brought on behalf of large numbers of unidentifiable class members.’

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UKSC Blog, 31st January 2022

Source: ukscblog.com

Civil Justice Council calls for improved procedure for claims under £500 – Courts and tribunals Judiciary

Posted January 31st, 2022 in civil justice, civil procedure rules, news, small claims by tracey

‘The Civil Justice Council has published its final report on the resolution of small claims (PDF, opens in a new tab), following an interim report published in June 2021.’

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Courts and tribunals Judiciary, 28th January 2022

Source: www.judiciary.uk

Class actions in England and Wales – OUT-LAW.com

Posted January 10th, 2022 in civil procedure rules, class actions, competition, news by tracey

‘There has been a growing impetus in recent years to enable individuals in the UK to come together to bring the same or similar claims against those they believe are responsible for wrongdoing. These claims are commonly known as “class actions”, a term particularly popular in US litigation, though they are also often referred to as “group actions” or “collective actions” too. However, in fact, the various terms describe a range of different procedures. In this guide, which focuses on the position in England and Wales, we use the overarching phrase “mass actions”.’

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OUT-LAW.com, 7th January 2022

Source: www.pinsentmasons.com

The appearance of a substantial defence in possession claims, and property guardians and possession – Nearly Legal

Posted December 14th, 2021 in civil procedure rules, estoppel, landlord & tenant, licensing, news, repossession by tracey

‘Global 100 Ltd v Laleva (2021) EWCA Civ 1835. There is a hell of a lot packed into one appeal here, so I’ll try to be brief. This was Global 100’s appeal of a first instance appeal (our note here) in which HHJ Luba QC had held that the first instance District Judge had been wrong to decide the possession claim against property guardians and make a possession order at first hearing, as there was a defence which appeared to be substantial and required further evidence and hearing.’

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Nearly Legal, 6th December 2021

Source: nearlylegal.co.uk

Judges and lawyers call for curbs on misuse of SLAPPs – Legal Futures

‘Senior judges and lawyers on a panel chaired by former Supreme Court president Lord Neuberger have called for legal reforms to curb “strategic lawsuits against public participation” (SLAPPs).’

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Legal Futures, 30th November 2021

Source: www.legalfutures.co.uk

News focus: Where next for mass claims? – Law Society’s Gazette

‘The Supreme Court’s ruling in Lloyd, blocking a multi-billion-pound claim against Google, exposes the lack of legislation providing redress in mass claims. But CPR 19.6 could offer a way forward.’

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Law Society's Gazette, 15th November 2021

Source: www.lawgazette.co.uk

High Court refuses permission for judicial review of CPR changes – Law Society’s Gazette

‘The High Court has refused permission for judicial review of changes to the rules governing applications for permission to appeal. A pharmacist struck off for improperly touching a patient’s breasts argued that changes to CPR 52.5 made in 2016, which generally requires the Court of Appeal to determine applications without an oral hearing, were unfair.’

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Law Society's Gazette, 8th November 2021

Source: www.lawgazette.co.uk

Deputy Master hits out at “unnecessary” expenditure in judicial review and clinical negligence claims on arguing about costs at assessment – Local Government Lawyer

Posted November 4th, 2021 in civil procedure rules, costs, judicial review, news, part 36 offers by sally

‘The Home Secretary wasted public money by protractedly disputing costs in a case involving unlawful detention, a Deputy Master in the High Court has said.’

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Local Government Lawyer, 4th November 2021

Source: www.localgovernmentlawyer.co.uk

Surely, I’m Insured?! Is a defendant insured only when sure the insurer will pay out? – Gatehouse Chambers

‘The Claimant was employed as a labourer by the Second Defendant (‘YKS’) who, in turn, were engaged by the Appellant Fourth Defendant (‘Buttar’) as an independent brickwork contractor. The First and Third Defendants were individuals who controlled the Second and Fourth Defendants. The Claimant suffered catastrophic injuries at a building site and brought proceedings in negligence against, inter alia, YKS, as his employer; and Buttar, as the main contractor on site. The Court recognised that there was a compelling need for an interim payment to fund an appropriate rehabilitation package for the Claimant if he was able to satisfy the legal requirements for obtaining the same.’

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Gatehouse Chambers, 28th October 2021

Source: gatehouselaw.co.uk

Does Qualified One-way Costs Shifting (“QOCS”) constrain a defendant’s liberty to seek, or the court’s discretionary power to permit, a set-off between opposing costs orders? – Lamb Chambers

‘QOCS applies to most personal injury (“PI”) claims. It usually limits the ability of a successful defendant to recover its costs against an unsuccessful claimant.’

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Lamb Chambers, October 2021

Source: www.lambchambers.co.uk

Qualified one-way costs shifting – Law Society’s Gazette

‘In Ho v Adelekun [2021] UKSC 43, the Supreme Court considered the mechanics of qualified one-way costs shifting (QOCS). The claimant was injured in a road traffic accident in 2012. In 2017, she was offered £30,000 by the defendant in settlement of her claim in what was described as a “Part 36 offer letter”. In that letter, the defendant offered to pay the claimant’s costs “in accordance with Part 36 rule 13”, such costs to be subject to detailed assessment if not agreed, if the offer was accepted within 21 days. The claimant decided to accept the offer and a Tomlin order was subsequently made by consent. However, the defendant then argued that the claimant’s costs were limited to the fixed costs recoverable in accordance with the terms of Part 45 Section IIIA of the Civil Procedure Rules.’

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Law Society's Gazette, 25th October 2021

Source: www.lawgazette.co.uk

Court lets late solicitors off hook – but don’t expect more ‘indulgence’ – Law Society’s Gazette

Posted October 8th, 2021 in civil procedure rules, documents, news, service, solicitors, time limits by tracey

‘ The High Court has shown a rare act of mercy to lawyers who filed documents late without checking to see if their opponents would accept email service. In Citysprint UK Ltd v Barts Health NHS Trust Mr Justice Fraser stressed that the particular circumstances were unusual and that his ruling should not be interpreted as the court being “indulgent” to failures of compliance.’

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Law Society's Gazette, 7th October 2021

Source: www.lawgazette.co.uk