PI Brief Update

The 'fundamental' in fundamental dishonesty: Attique Denzil v Usman Mohammed and UK Insurance Ltd [2023] EWHC 2077 (KB) - Amy Lanham Coles, Temple Garden Chambers

25/08/23. In this case, the Appellant had asserted at trial that he had suffered various injuries in a road traffic accident, including an alleged injury to his head causing swel...

Both parts of a combined Part 36 offer have to be beaten for Part 36 cost consequences to follow (and leapfrog permission given on child 'lost years' claim): CCC (by LF MMM) v Sheffield Teaching Hospitals [2023] EWHC 1905 (KB) - Nancy Kelehar, Temple Gard

23/08/23. Mr Justice Richie addressed two matters of importance. First, how the court should assess whether a combined Part 36 offer has been beaten. Second, whether an appeal po...

‘Payment of the Bill’ Under the Solicitors Act 1974: Menzies v Oakwood Solicitors Ltd [2023] EWCA Civ 844 - Sebastian Bates, Temple Garden Chambers

31/07/23. In this case, the Court of Appeal analysed s 70 of the Solicitors Act 1974.

As explained at [1], s 70 ‘ entitles a client to apply to the court for an assessment of a sol...

Dishonesty or litigation 'wishful thinking' - Anisa Kassamali, Temple Garden Chambers

30/07/23. Judges are often asked to consider the honesty of a witness when giving evidence. Mr Justice Richards considered the question in the context of an action by a corporate...

Whiplash reform: As settlement times rise, the OIC portal remains far from perfect - Matthew Huggett, president of CILEX

04/07/23. In 2021, the Ministry of Justice brought in reforms that increased the small-claims limit for road traffic accidents from £1,000 to £5,000, implemented fixed damages fo...

Courts cannot future-proof orders: Tabbitt v Clark [2023] EWCA Civ 744 - Anisa Kassamali, Temple Garden Chambers

29/06/23. The Court of Appeal considered an application for a declaration that would have “future-proofed” the Claimant’s costs liability where he was late to accept the defendant’...

Unsuccessful parties can be ordered to pay the costs involved in applications against a non-party: McCarthy v Jones & Anor [2023] EWCA Civ 589 - Anisa Kassamali, Temple Garden Chambers

07/06/23. The Court of Appeal considered an appeal against a decision that an unsuccessful party pay the costs involved in applications in relation to a non-party.

The Claimant wa...

The Enlarged Partial Agreement on The Register of Damage Caused by The Aggression of The Russian Federation Against Ukraine - Sebastian Bates, Temple Garden Chambers

28/06/23. At a summit in May, the Council of Europe announced the establishment of a Register of Damage Caused by the Aggression of the Russian Federation Against Ukraine.

Accordi...

Pre-Action Disclosure as to Impecuniosity: Holt v Allianz Insurance PLC [2023] EWHC 790 (KB) - Sebastian Bates, Temple Garden Chambers

31/05/23. As set out at [1]–[11], there has been a divergence of practice in the County Court on whether prospective defendants in credit hire cases who apply for pre-action disc...

Paralegal Apprenticeships Helping Increase Diversity in the Legal Profession - Jane Robson, CEO, National Association of Licensed Paralegals

08/05/23. The legal profession is often viewed as being exclusively for the ‘elite’. To be fair, there has been a lot of snobbery around the law—both real and perceived—and it is...

Embargoed judgments: InterDigital Technology Corporation & Ors v Lenovo Group Ltd & Ors [2023] EWCA Civ 57 - Anisa Kassamali, Temple Garden Chambers

24/04/23. The fear of accidentally breaching an embargo on the disclosure of a draft judgment rests with all practitioners. Some comfort can be taken from the Court of Appeal’s d...

Inflexibility in Summary Assessment: R (Isah) v Secretary of State for the Home Department [2023] EWCA Civ 268 - Sebastian Bates, Temple Garden Chambers

15/04/23. On this appeal, the Court of Appeal addressed ‘ whether a summary assessment must be undertaken by the judge making the order for summary assessment ’: see [1].

Summary

As ...

Secretary of State for the Home Department Fails to Strike Out Negligence Claim - Grace Corby, Temple Garden Chambers

15/03/23. In Aruchanga v Secretary of State for the Home Department [2023] EWHC 282 (KB) the Claimant sought damages for breach of a common law duty of care by the Defendant for ...

Non-party costs orders against solicitors where a CFA is in place - Anisa Kassamali, Temple Garden Chambers

14/03/23. PME v The Scout Association [2023] EWHC 158 (Senior Courts Costs Office) considered an application for a non-party costs order (“ NCPO ”) against a claimant’s solicitors,...

Interrogation of draft judgments: Re (Care Proceedings: Fact-Finding) [2023] EWCA Civ 38 - Anisa Kassamali, Temple Garden Chambers

27/02/23. Re (Care Proceedings: Fact-Finding)[2023] EWCA Civ 38 considered the correct approach for parties to take in relation to draft judgments produced by the Court.

Backgroun...

Case Summary: H v S - Spencers Solicitors Limited

01/02/23. Accident Date: 13/01/2020

Settlement Date: 09/08/2022

TOTAL GROSS SETTLEMENT: £17,887.00

Liability

The Claimant, aged 40, was involved in a road traffic accident.

The Claima...

If a claim is amended to add a personal injury component part way through litigation, QOCS protection still applies to the entirety of the matter - Grace Corby, Temple Garden Chambers

12/01/23. Munira Pathan v Commissioner of Police of the Metropolis [2022] EWHC 3244 (KB)

The Claimant (and Appellant) was arrested by police officers and then detained at a police...

Court’s Approach to Undertakings Given by Parties in the Settlement of a Claim - Anisa Kassamali, Temple Garden Chambers

16/12/22. Smith v Backhouse [2022] EWHC 3011 (KB) considers whether the Court can refuse to accept undertakings which a party has agreed to provide to the Court as part of the se...

A Reminder That Interlocutory Cost Orders Can Be Made Against QOCS Protected Claimants - Grace Corby, Temple Garden Chambers

14/12/22. Atmani & Ors v Royal Borough of Kensington & Ors [2022] EWHC 2618 (KB) - The court considered the costs consequences of the decisions made in a CMC. The court o...

Case Summary: G v C - Stephanie Robinson, Spencers Solicitors Limited

01/12/22. Case Name: G v C

Accident Date: 12/11/2020

Settlement Date: 26/04/2022

TOTAL GROSS SETTLEMENT: £6,000.00

Background and Liability

G was aged 54 at the time of her road traff...

'Mixed claims' and the application of QOCS - Afriyie v Commissioner of Police for the Metropolis [2023] EWHC 1974 (KB) - Amy Lanham Coles, Temple Garden Chambers

24/08/23. This claim arose out of an incident in which the Claimant had been tasered by the police and had fallen and hit his head. The Claimant had brought a claim for assault, ...

Caution given against misconceived appeals of case management decisions: Jennings v Otis Limited and Bristol City Council [2023] EWHC 2039 (KB) - Nancy Kelehar, Temple Garden Chambers

22/08/23. The appeal related to a case management order (CMO) made by Master Thornett at the RCJ in March 2023. The Master was critical of the pleadings and the Claimant’s Part 1...

FREE CHAPTER from 'A Practical Guide to Respirable Crystalline Silica Dust Claims' by Helen Pagett

02/08/23. The HSE has identified silica as the greatest risk to construction workers after asbestos. Despite not only the risks of respiratory crystalline silica being well known...

‘The Denton Tests Do Apply to an Application to Set Aside Judgment’: FXF v English Karate Federation Ltd [2023] EWCA Civ 891 - Sebastian Bates, Temple Garden Chambers

31/07/23. As Sir Geoffrey Vos MR—with whom Nicola Davies LJ agreed and Birss LJ agreed in a short concurring judgment—explained at [1], ‘[t] his case highlight [ed] a controversial ...

Interpreters’ fees can be recoverable under the fixed costs regime - Anisa Kassamali, Temple Garden Chambers

30/07/23. The fixed costs regime pursuant to CPR r.45 is very familiar territory to personal injury practitioners. In Santiago v Motor Insurers’ Bureau [2023] EWCA Civ 838, the Cou...

A reminder to practitioners about the importance of skeleton arguments: Masih & Anor v Royal Wolverhampton NHS Trust [2023] EWHC 1280 (KB) - Anisa Kassamali, Temple Garden Chambers

06/06/23. A judgment handed down by Ritchie J reminds practitioners about the appropriate role of skeleton arguments in proceedings.

The Appellant had been granted permission to a...

Intervening Medical Treatment and the Chain of Causation: Jenkinson v Hertfordshire County Council [2023] EWHC 872 (KB) - Sebastian Bates, Temple Garden Chambers

30/05/23. In this case, Andrew Baker J addressed whether Webb v Barclays Bank PLC and Portsmouth Hospitals NHS Trust [2002] PIQR P8 ‘ establishe [d] as a rule of law that medical trea...

Another reminder about the risks of surveillance footage: Mantey v Ministry of Defence [2023] EWHC 761 (KB) - Anisa Kassamali, Temple Garden Chambers

23/04/23. Eyre J considered whether or not a former soldier had been fundamentally dishonest in his personal injury claim in light of surveillance footage.

Background

The claimant ...

Non-Attendance on the Small Claims Track: Owen v Black Horse Ltd [2023] EWCA Civ 325 - Sebastian Bates, Temple Garden Chambers

16/04/23. CPR 27.9 governs ‘[n] on-attendance of parties at a final hearing ’ on the small claims track. The question for the Court of Appeal in this case was what CPR 27.9 means b...

Whiplash reform: As settlement times rise, the OIC portal remains far from perfect - Matthew Huggett, president of CILEX

03/04/23. In 2021, the Ministry of Justice brought in reforms that increased the small-claims limit for road traffic accidents from £1,000 to £5,000, implemented fixed damages f...

FREE CHAPTER from 'A Practical Guide to Cross-Border Clinical Negligence Claims' by Dominique Smith

02/03/23. In recent years, it has become increasingly common for consumers to travel abroad for cosmetic surgical and dental procedures. Consumers may be enticed to go abroad fro...

When Is Permission to Appeal Required in Cases of Contempt? - Sebastian Bates, Temple Garden Chambers

22/03/23. In Deutsche Bank AG v Sebastian Holdings Ltd [2023] EWCA Civ 191, the Court of Appeal addressed what Andrews LJ described at [127] of her concurring judgment as ‘ the topi...

Vulnerable Witness Being Provided With Cross-Examination Questions in Advance Created an Unlevel Playing Field - Grace Corby, Temple Garden Chambers

16/03/23. GKE V BRETT NIGEL TRAVERS GUNNING [2023] EWHC 332 (KB).

The Claimant received work/life coaching sessions from the Defendant through her work and then paid privately for...

Third Party Cost Order Against Expert Witness Overturned on Appeal: Robinson v Liverpool University Hospitals Nhs Trust [2023] EWHC 21 (Kb) - Grace Corby, Temple Garden Chambers

24/02/23. The first instance Judge had erred in making a third-party costs order against the Claimant’s expert in a clinical negligence claim

Background

The Claimant had brought a ...

Mixed Injury Cases and the Civil Liability Act 2018: Hassam v Rabot [2023] EWCA Civ 19 - Sebastian Bates, Temple Garden Chambers

23/02/23. ‘ As a general rule, the quantification of damages for [pain, suffering, and loss of amenity, or PSLA] is governed by the common law ’: see [11] of Nicola Davies LJ’s judgm...

The Court of Appeal on the rules of the road, and of road traffic litigation - Sebastian Bates, Temple Garden Chambers

23/01/23. In Taylor v Raspin [2022] EWCA Civ 1613, the Court of Appeal gave guidance on reasonable driving and the adjudication of road traffic litigation.

As William Davis LJ sum...

When is adjournment appropriate in a high value personal injury claim? - Anisa Kassamali, Temple Garden Chambers

19/01/23. Benford v East and North Hertfordshire NHS Trust [2022] EWHC 3263 (KB) considered whether a trial should be adjourned on the assertion that the assessment of future los...

Time limits for the assessment of a CFA - Anisa Kassamali, Temple Garden Chambers

17/01/23. Menzies v Oakwood Solicitors Limited [2022] EWHC 3199 (KB) considered the approach to a solicitor’s deduction under a conditional fee agreement (“CFA”). On the particul...

Case Summary: T v S - Helen Reynolds, Spencers Solicitors Limited

06/01/23. Case Name: T v S
Accident Date: 08/08/2019
Settlement Date: 19/07/2022
TOTAL GROSS SETTLEMENT: £31,000.00

Background & Liability

The Claimant aged 25, was involved in a ...

The Importance of Discretion After Cable: Ahmed v Chojnowski [2022] EWHC 2863 (KB) - Sebastian Bates, Temple Garden Chambers

19/12/22. In Cable v London Victoria Insurance Co Ltd [2020] EWCA Civ 1015, the Court of Appeal emphasised at [73] that ‘[h]aving established that there was an abuse of process, th...