Late amendments, strike outs, summary judgment & remote heads of loss 14 October 2016 Thomas-Crockett case report, Damages, General, LP Procedure, quantum (0) The High Court has recently handed down judgment in Gonul Guney v Kingsley Napley & Anor [2016] EWHC 2349 (QB). This was a professional liability claim based on the Claimant's retainer of the Defendant solicitors, in respect of litigation concerning the estate of the Claimant’s father. It touches upon a number of issues of interest to those involved in a broad range of civil li... [More]
Government Whiplash Reforms - On Hold? 13 October 2016 Ella-Davis access to justice, insurance, personal injury, politics, road traffic accidents, whiplash (0) The Law Society Gazette is reporting that the Justice Secretary is not intending to proceed with the personal injury reforms set out in last year’s Autumn Statement “at the moment”. We blogged on those proposals at the time here which, as a reminder, were that the small claims track limit should be raised to £5,000 and the removal of the right to general damages for minor ... [More]
No duty to warn of the obvious 12 October 2016 Jack-Harding (0) The Court of Appeal handed down judgment today in the eagerly anticipated appeal in Edwards v London Borough of Sutton (2016). The claim concerned the duty owed by occupiers for structures present on their land. The Claimant was pushing a bicycle over a small ornamental footbridge which passed over a stream in a park owned and occupied by the London Borough of Sutton. The bridge was humped and had... [More]
Zane Gbangbola Inquest - Coroner delivers findings 15 September 2016 Nicola-Atkins (0) The Senior Coroner for Surrey, Richard Travers, has delivered his Findings and Conclusions in the Inquest touching the death of Zane Gbangbola, who died at his home in Chertsey, Surrey, during the night of 7th February 2014. At the time of his death Zane lived with his parents, Nicole Lawler and Kye Gbangbola at no.243 Thameside, a property located adjacent to the River Thames and imme... [More]
Getting your hands on an undisclosed expert report and more 09 September 2016 Ian-Miller case report, Experts, personal injury, Privilege, cpr (0) When the other side wants to change expert are you entitled to their original expert’s reports and other documentation containing the substance of the expert’s opinion? This was the question considered in the case Allen Tod Architecture v Capita Property and Infrastructure Ltd ([2016] EWHC 2171). Unsurprisingly the claimant in that case resisted disclosure on the grounds that the docum... [More]
PI claim by tenant: SC overules CA and Dowding & Reynolds 26 August 2016 Ian-Miller case report, Lord Neuberger, personal injury (0) For years tenants have relied upon Brown v Liverpool Corporation [1969] 3 All ER 1345 when suing landlords for damages for personal injury caused by an accident on external steps or a front path leading to the front door of a house. In that case the Court of Appeal held that the steps were part of the exterior of the dwelling-house. In the case of Edwards v Kumarasamy [2016] UKSC 40, the Supreme C... [More]
Inadequate bundles: a costly mistake... 15 August 2016 Ian-Miller case report, costs, cpr (0) The July edition of Civil Procedure News reports a case in which a claimant's bundles were inadequate, two applications were adjourned and the claimant was ordered to pay the costs of producing properly prepared bundles and the costs thrown away as a result of the adjournment. The claimant had brought three applications for summary judgment on three separate claims. Two of the ... [More]
Fighting fraud 19 July 2016 Ian-Miller access to justice, case report, human rights, road traffic accidents (0) Judgment in the case of Da Costa v Sargaco [2016] EWCA Civ 764 was handed down last week and represents the latest round of the struggle between claimants bringing claims for injury or damage arising out of road traffic accidents and defendant insurers alleging that claims are fraudulent. The case deals with the cogency of evidence required to establish an allegation of fraud, with the inferences ... [More]
Assessing the cost of ATE Premiums 08 July 2016 Thomas-Crockett case report, costs, courts, General, LP Costs, personal injury (0) If anyone needs a reminded why the costs landscape for personal injury litigators has changed so dramatically they may not need look much further than the judgment of the Designated Civil Judge of the County Court at London, HHJ Walden-Smith, sitting with DJ Letham as assessor in the costs case of Banks v London Borough of Hillingdon, which has been commented upon in the legal press. The case co... [More]
The EU Divided - But not as we know it 05 July 2016 Jack-Harding (0) The events of past weeks have brought into sharp focus the seemingly different attitudes held by a majority of the UK population compared to other EU member states. The result, whilst at present uncertain, may well be a full uncoupling of the UK legal system from European law. It is interesting to note, therefore, that even though EU law has for many years moved towards a harmonisation of legal pr... [More]