PI Brief Update

David Richardson & Ors v Slater & Gordon UK Limited [2025] EWHC 1220 (SCCO) - Andrew Ratomski, Temple Garden Chambers

13/06/25. Date of judgment: 19 May 2025.

This judgment concerned a group of 224 claims against solicitors, the Defendant, from which ten test claimants were identified. Senior Cos...

JD Wetherspoon Plc v Burger & Risk Solutions BG Ltd [2025] EWHC 1259 (KB) - Philip Matthews, Temple Garden Chambers

11/06/25. The Claimant sustained a serious hip injury after being forcefully restrained by two door supervisors outside a JD Wetherspoon (JDW) pub in August 2018. The supervisors...

Costs budgeting can be retrospective: BDW Trading Limited v Ardmore Construction Limited [2025] EWHC 1063 (TCC) - Andrew Ratomski, Temple Garden Chambers

21/05/25. Date of judgment: 2 May 2025

Andrew Mitchell KC sitting as a Deputy Judge of the High Court was required to decide whether the court had the power to make a costs manage...

Doroudvash v Zurich Insurance Plc [2025] EWCC 10 - Philip Matthews, Temple Garden Chambers

19/05/25. In Doroudvash, the Court determined a claimant’s application to join an additional defendant into an action after the expiry of the primary limitation period.

Background...

The 'Relevant Period' in a Part 36 offers means what you think it does - Andrew Ratomski, Temple Garden Chambers

18/04/25. Henderson and Jones Limited v Salica Investments Limited and Others [2025] EWHC 838 (Comm)

Date of judgment: 4 April 2025

This case is an illuminating decision on the con...

Wagatha Costie - Philip Matthews, Temple Garden Chambers

16/04/25. The judgment in Rebekah Vardy v Coleen Rooney [2025] EWHC 851 (KB) arose from an appeal concerning the costs associated with the highly publicised defamation proceedings b...

Child Sexual Abuse Litigation Reforms - Philip Matthews, Temple Garden Chambers

18/03/25. The UK Government has announced its intention to implement a number of key recommendations from the Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse (IICSA). There is no draft...

Birley v Heritage Independent Living Ltd [2025] EWCA Civ 44 - Philip Matthews, Temple Garden Chambers

25/02/25. This appeal concerns costs and the interaction between qualified one-way costs shifting (QOCS) in personal injury claims and cost recovery rules in information law clai...

Aviva Insurance Limited v Atiquillar Nadeem and Masoud Sidiqi [2024] EWHC 3445 (KB) - Andrew Ratomski, Temple Garden Chambers

21/02/25. Date of judgment: 16 October 2024 (but recently published).

The judgment from HHJ Tindal sitting as a judge of the High Court in these recent contempt proceedings traver...

Majid Ali v HSF Logistics Polska SP Zoo [2024] EWCA Civ 1479 - Andrew Ratomski, Temple Garden Chambers

24/01/25. Date of judgment: 4 December 2024.

Whilst Ali v HSF is a case arising in credit hire litigation, the Court of Appeal’s recent decision is of broader significance to injury...

CXC (a protected party by her litigation friend BXB) v (1) David Clarke, (2) EUI Limited [2024] EWHC 3138 (KB) - Philip Matthews, Temple Garden Chambers

22/01/25. CXC considers the use of intermediaries to assist vulnerable witnesses to give evidence in personal injury proceedings.

Background

On 16 September 2007, the Claimant (who...

FXS v The Mulberry Bush Organisation Ltd [2024] EWHC 2844 (KB) - Philip Matthews, Temple Garden Chambers

18/12/24. Date of judgment: 8 November 2024

FXS considered issues of costs where a claimant had not succeeded in establishing negligence at trial but was successful on other issues...

Elysa Alton v Powszechny Zaklad Ubezpieczen [2024] EWCA Civ 1435 - Andrew Ratomski, Temple Garden Chambers

17/12/24. Date of judgment: 6 November 2024

Alton is an important decision for practitioners bringing and responding to claims arising from road traffic accidents where issues of i...

Oakwood Solicitors Ltd v Menzies [2024] UKSC 34 - Andrew Ratomski, Temple Garden Chambers

22/11/24. Date of judgment: 23 October 2024

This significant costs judgment concerned when a client can apply to have their solicitor’s bill of costs assessed under section 70 of ...

BJB, In the Matter of [2024] EWCOP 59 (T2) - Philip Matthews, Temple Garden Chambers

19/11/24. Date of judgment: 24 October 2024

In BJB, In the Matter of [2024] EWCOP 59 (T2) the Court of Protection considered a seriously injured party’s application to be released f...

Williams-Henry v Associated British Ports & Anor (Re Wasted Costs Order) [2024] EWHC 2415 (KB) - Philip Matthews, Temple Garden Chambers

16/10/24. What are the duties of claimants’ lawyers once a defendant serves evidence of fundamental dishonesty? By continuing to act on a CFA to trial, do those lawyers expose th...

Difficult claimant evidence and partisan experts: Steven Wilson v Ministry of Justice [2024] EWHC 2389 (KB) - Andrew Ratomski, Temple Garden Chambers

14/10/24. Date of judgment : 20 September 2024.

On 2 July 2018 Mr Wilson suffered life-threatening and life-changing injuries after being repeatedly and viciously stabbed by a fello...

MoJ Quarterly Civil Justice Statics Published - Philip Matthews, Temple Garden Chambers

18/09/24. The Ministry of Justice (‘MoJ’) has published its latest quarterly civil justice statics for April – June 2024.

These include a number of interesting points for persona...

Novel points about group representative actions - Andrew Ratomski, Temple Garden Chambers

13/09/24. Case:  Claire Smyth v British Airways plc and Easyjet Airline Company Limited [2024] EWHC 2173 (KB)

Date of judgment: 2 September 2024

Smyth v British Airways is a nota...

Is a formal application to amend a costs budget always necessary and wise? Masudur Rahman v Dewan Hassan and Others [2024] EWHC 2038 (Ch) - Andrew Ratomski, Temple Garden Chambers

22/08/24. Date of judgment: 1 August 2024

HHJ Paul Matthews sitting as a Deputy High Court Judge considered a number of consequential matters following a three week trial where th...

Mark Edwards & Ors v 2 Sisters Food Group Limited [2025] EWHC 1312 (KB) - Philip Matthews, Temple Garden Chambers

12/06/25. The case concerns an appeal by four former employees of 2 Sisters Food Group Ltd, who alleged that they contracted Covid-19 due to workplace safety failures in June 202...

R (Ayinde) v London Borough of Haringey and Al-Haroun v Qatar National Bank QPSC and Another [2025] EWHC 1383 (Admin) - Andrew Ratomski, Temple Garden Chambers

10/06/25. Date of judgment: 6 June 2025

The Divisional Court’s judgment in these joined contempt cases following a Hamid hearing heard on 23 May 2025 has received wide-spread attent...

Glaister & Anor, R (on the application of) v Assistant Coroner for North Wales [2025] EWHC 1018 (Admin) - Philip Matthews, Temple Garden Chambers

20/05/25. In Glaister, the Court had sent out a draft judgment in a judicial review case relating to a coroner’s decision. Specifically, this was circulated in the form of a ‘con...

Claimant fruit picker’s employer found negligent but not the third party driver who drove into collision with him - Andrew Ratomski, Temple Garden Chambers

16/05/25. Radoslav Pashamov v (1) Leon Taylor and (2) Edward Vinson Limited [2025] EWHC 1035 (KB)

Date of judgment: 30 April 2025

Simon Tinkler sitting as a Deputy High Court Judge ...

Nigel Mather & Ors v Lakbir Basran & Ors [2025] EWHC 438 (Ch) HHJ - Philip Matthews, Temple Garden Chambers

17/04/25. In Mather v Basran , the High Court addressed several issues surrounding an adjournment request made by the Defendant, Mr Rattan, on medical grounds during a trial involv...

Multi Track allocation remains decisive to the disapplication of the Fixed Costs rules - Andrew Ratomski, Temple Garden Chambers

15/04/25 . Laura Attersley v UK Insurance Limited [2025] EWHC 884 (KB) 

Date of judgment: 11 April 2025

This claim arose from unremarkable circumstances: a claim for personal ...

Morris v Williams [2025] EWHC 218 (KB) - Philip Matthews, Temple Garden Chambers

19/03/25. In Morris v Williams [2025] EWHC 218 (KB) , District Judge Dodsworth considered whether a letter from the Claimant’s former solicitor, which contained proposals to settle ...

Omanovic v Shamaazi Ltd & Ismael Abdela Mohammed [2025] EWHC 110 (KB) - Andrew Ratomski, Temple Garden Chambers

24/02/25. Date of judgment: 21 January 2025

Introduction

An important point of civil procedure recently arose in this claim for breach of contract and tortious conspiracy which can...

Smith -v- AXA Insurance UK PlC & Spectra Drive Limited (24th December 2024) - Philip Matthews, Temple Garden Chambers

23/01/25. Smith is the latest decision in the long-running trench warfare between credit hire companies and defendant insurers on the issue of non-party costs orders (NCPOs). Des...

Majid Saadati v Seye Dastghaib and Andreas Rudolf Bihrer [2024] EWHC 3336 (KB) - Andrew Ratomski, Temple Garden Chambers

21/01/25. Date of judgment: 20 December 2024.

Practitioners making hasty applications for default judgment ought to keep in mind the law of unexpected consequences. Applications f...

Christine Bangs v FM Conway Limited [2024] EWCA Civ 1461 - Andrew Ratomski, Temple Garden Chambers

16/12/24. Date of judgment: 6 November 2024

This appeal was unusual because it is a rare example of the Court of Appeal intervening to reverse a decision to set aside the strike o...

PMC v Local Health Board [2024] EWHC 2969 (KB) - Philip Matthews, Temple Garden Chambers

13/12/24. Date of judgment: 6 November 2024

In PMC , the High Court provided instructive guidance on reporting restrictions in the clinical negligence context.

Background

The Claimant...

Senay & Anor v Mulsanne Insurance Company Ltd [2024] EWCC 12 - Philip Matthews, Temple Garden Chambers

21/11/24. Date of judgment: 24 May 2024

How does a finding of fundamental dishonesty in respect of a claimant’s personal injury claim impact their right to recover damage for prop...

Tindall and another v Chief Constable of Thames Valley Police [2024] UKSC 33 - Andrew Ratomski, Temple Garden Chambers

18/11/24. Date of judgment: 23 October 2024

The Supreme Court has handed down an important decision on the duty of care in negligence. Tindall revisits the vexed question in English...

Andrew Reynolds v Chief Constable of Kent Police [2024] EWHC 2487 (KB) - Andrew Ratomski, Temple Garden Chambers

17/10/24. Date of judgment: 2 October 2024.

Mr Reynolds was found by HHJ Brown sitting with a jury at Canterbury County Court to have been falsely imprisoned by Kent Police for a ...

Special measures in the civil courts: IMX v Bicknell [2024] EWHC 2183 (KB) - Philip Matthews, Temple Garden Chambers

15/10/24. Whilst it is not unusual for special measures to be imposed in criminal and family law trials involving vulnerable parties, they are a less common feature in the civil ...

Managing the costs of costs management brought into sharp focus - Andrew Ratomski, Temple Garden Chambers

20/09/24. Case: Peter Jenkins v Thurrock Council [2024] EWHC 2248 (KB)

Date of judgment: 9 September 2024

Managing the costs of costs management is brought into sharp focus by the re...

New Clinical Negligence Agreement Launched - Philip Matthews, Temple Garden Chambers

16/09/24. The updated ‘Clinical Negligence Claims Agreement 2024’ has been launched, replacing the ‘Covid-19 Clinical Negligence Protocol’ established in 2020. This updated agree...

Expert witnesses and apparent bias: Biggadike v El Farra & Anor [2024] EWHC 1688 (KB) - Philip Matthews, Temple Garden Chambers

21/08/24 . This case provides an interesting commentary on the issue of expert witnesses and apparent bias.

Facts

Biggadike was a clinical negligence action against two defendants o...

Defendant's own YouTube posts provided evidence of contempt: Wye Valley NHS Trust v Murphy [2024] EWHC 1912 (KB) - Philip Matthews, Temple Garden Chambers

20/08/24. This case, an application for committal for contempt of court, is noteworthy for the extent of evidence which came from the Defendant himself in the form of social medi...