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PI Brief Update

Part 36 Offers: Whether Genuine Attempt to Settle - Andrew Cousins, DWF

23/11/15. MVN (R on the application of) v London Borough of Greenwich
High Court (Admin) 10 July 2015

When Part 36 was reformed in April, one of the amendments was aimed at addressing “cynical Part 36 offers”. The court always had to consider a number of factors when deciding whether it is unjust to award the additional benefits under Part 36 but a new factor was introduced in CPR 36.17(5)(e): whether the offer was a genuine attempt to settle the claim. Although this issue has arisen in some pre-April decisions, we now have what we believe to be the first the High Court decision to consider the new provision. Andrew Cousins reviews MVN v London Borough of Greenwich.

Background

The substantive issue in this case had been a dispute over the claimant’s age and whether or not the claimant was a child. After exchanging witness statements, the claimant made an offer which purported to be a Part 36 offer on terms that the defendant would accept the claimant’s case about his age and agree to pay costs.

At trial Picken J accepted the claimant’s evidence concerning his age. Following the judgment there was no issue that...

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The opinions expressed in the articles are the authors' own, not those of Law Brief Publishing Ltd, and are not necessarily commensurate with general legal or medico-legal expert consensus of opinion and/or literature. Any medical content is not exhaustive but at a level for the non-medical reader to understand. 

Professional advice should always be obtained before applying any information to particular circumstances.

Excerpts from judgments and statutes are Crown copyright. Any Crown Copyright material is reproduced with the permission of the Controller of OPSI and the Queen’s Printer for Scotland under the Open Government Licence.