July 2023 Contents
 Welcome to the July 2023 issue of PI Brief Update Law Journal. Click the relevant links below to read the articles. CPD Note that there are no new monthly CPD quizzes since the SRA and the BSB have both updated their CPD schemes to eliminate this requirement. Reading PIBULJ articles can still help to meet your CPD needs. For further details see our CPD Information page.
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| Personal Injury Articles | |
 Dishonesty or litigation 'wishful thinking' - Anisa Kassamali, Temple Garden Chambers 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 investment fund in Old Park Capital Maestro Fund Ltd v Old Park Capital Ltd & Ors [2023] EWHC 1886 (Ch). A corporate investment fund (the "Fund") brought proceedings against three defendants: (i) the investment manager of the Fund ("Old Park Capital); (ii) the Chief Operating Officer of Old Park Capital ("HVK"); and (iii) a director of the Fund ("BP"). This update considers Mr Justice Richards' discussion of HVK's evidence... |
 Interpreters' fees can be recoverable under the fixed costs regime - Anisa Kassamali, Temple Garden Chambers 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 Court of Appeal considered whether an individual can recover the costs of interpreters' fees under that regime. The appellant had issued personal injury proceedings against an uninsured driver and the Motor Insurers' Bureau (the "MIB") following a road traffic accident. He spoke Portuguese and had a poor grasp of English. His witness statement was prepared in Portuguese and translated into English by... |
 'Payment of the Bill' Under the Solicitors Act 1974: Menzies v Oakwood Solicitors Ltd [2023] EWCA Civ 844 - Sebastian Bates, Temple Garden Chambers 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 solicitor's bill', although 'the power to order assessment is not "exercisable on an application made by the party chargeable with the bill after the expiration of 12 months from the payment of the bill"'. Against this background, the question for the Court was: '[W]hat amounts to payment of the bill'?... |
 '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 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 procedural issue that ha[d] arisen in the wake of' the well-known Denton judgment, namely 'whether the three-stage test described in Denton should be applied by the court when it is considering whether to set aside a default judgment under' CPR 13.3 in circumstances where there were 'authorities [. . .] said to point both ways'... |
 Whiplash reform: As settlement times rise, the OIC portal remains far from perfect - Matthew Huggett, president of CILEX 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 for injuries that last up to two years and asked the insurance industry to set up an online claiming system - the Official Injury Claim Service (OIC). These changes were made amid considerable concern from across the legal profession about the potential for restricting access to justice for those making injury claims... |
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| Clinical Negligence Medicine by Dr Mark Burgin | |
 What if they created the Artificial Intelligence (Ethics) Act 2023 - Dr Mark Burgin Dr Mark Burgin imagines what the government might be planning in response to the threats that recent developments in AI and what effect it will have on the legal profession. The impact of AI advances on the legal profession is still being debated. Some experts believe that AI will lead to the decline of the legal profession, as AI systems become capable of handling more and more legal tasks. Others believe that AI will actually create new opportunities for lawyers, as they will be needed to oversee and manage AI systems... |
 Hoarding as a disability - Dr Mark Burgin Dr Mark Burgin explains why disability analysts are the ideal expert to assess and explain the nature of hoarding and what reasonable adjustments should be made. Hoarding is a mental health disorder characterized by the persistent difficulty in getting rid of possessions, regardless of their actual value. Hoarders often feel a strong emotional attachment to their possessions, and they may believe that they need to keep them in order to feel safe or secure. It can occur with mental health conditions, such as anxiety, depression, and obsessive-compulsive disorder... |
![Appeal judge rules that credit hire company has no costs liability following a finding of fundamental dishonesty in personal injury case: RSA v. Fastrack Solutions Limited [2023] 4 WLUK 92 - David Bowden, Erimus Chambers](/content/images/resized/images/stories/carkeys_72_72.jpg)
