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“Panicked” solicitor suspended for signing witness statements himself
A sole practitioner with over 35 years’ experience has been suspended from practice for nine months after signing witness statements himself and attempting to mislead the court. He ran out of time to meet a court deadline, “panicked” and wrote in the signatures of his claimant client and two witnesses.
Ministry of Justice “set to repeat mistakes of LASPO”, warns MASS chairman
LASPO has not brought down insurance premiums, stopped referral fees or seen accident victims benefit from the promised 10% uplift in damages, and the Ministry of Justice is set to repeat its mistakes in the Civil Liability Bill, the chairman of the Motor Accident Solicitors Society claimed yesterday.
Hunt unveils plan to provide state-backed indemnity scheme for GPs
Health secretary Jeremy Hunt today announced plans to develop a state-backed indemnity scheme for general practitioners (GPs) in England. He said the aim was to deliver “a more stable and more affordable system for GPs and their patients” that could cover future and, potentially, historic claims arising from the delivery of NHS services.
Regan: £250,000 threshold for High Court cases on the way
The senior judiciary is making progress towards introducing a £250,000 threshold for cases that are eligible to be heard in the High Court, Professor Dominic Regan has claimed. However, there are contradictory views on the enthusiasm of the Ministry of Justice for Lord Justice Jackson’s proposed extension of fixed recoverable costs.
High Court denies claimants relief from sanctions after “serious and substantial default”
The High Court has rejected an application for relief from sanctions from claimants found to be in “serious and substantial” default by serving their particulars of claims three months late. A deputy Chancery master said the claimants had provided “inadequate reason for the breaches”.
Regional costs judge reverses position on part 36 offers in fixed-costs cases
A regional costs judge has concluded that he was wrong to rule in a previous case that late acceptance of a part 36 offer automatically entitled the claimant to an award of indemnity costs, and thus provided an escape route out of fixed costs.
Thinktank report urges “ultimate” form of no-fault compensation for clinical negligence
The current system for assessing and paying medical negligence claims is “expensive, unsustainable and can cause more harm than good”, according to a report published by the Centre for Policy Studies that said it should be replaced by no-fault compensation.
Six-month warning – lawyers told they cannot ignore electronic bill of costs
Practitioners have been warned that they can no longer ignore the electronic bill of costs, which now seems certain to become mandatory in the Senior Courts Costs Office and county courts on 6 April 2018. Though it was initially due to become compulsory this week, a leading figure from the project said there would be no further delay.
Competition Appeal Tribunal decision to refuse biggest-ever class action “not susceptible to appeal”
The Competition Appeal Tribunal has refused solicitor Walter Merricks permission to appeal its decision to deny him a collective proceedings order to bring a £14bn action against Mastercard on behalf of 46m people. It said there was no right to appeal the decision, and even if there was, it would have refused permission.
Gone but not forgotten – Asons ordered to pay costs after running case without claimant’s knowledge
The now-defunct law firm Asons, together with the director of a one-time claims management company, have been ordered to pay £40,000 in costs to insurer LV= over a bogus whiplash claim. They judge described the former Bolton firm’s conduct as “improper, unreasonable and negligent” in taking on the claim without verifying that the claimant was genuinely providing instructions.
High Court questions growing use of standstill agreements
The High Court has questioned the growing use of standstill agreements in litigation, saying they are “potentially just another self-inflicted complication” when it would be simpler to apply for a stay. Mr Justice Coulson said he did not understand why they had become more common.
Strong support from UK public for consumer class actions, while half back third-party funding
There is strong public support for collective consumer actions in the UK, new research has found, although most want it, and any third-party litigation funding that supports a case, to be subject to controls – many of which already exist here.
Third-party funder backs major potential claim against patent renewal business
The London office of an American law firm, together with a Jersey firm, have secured litigation finance to investigate and possibly sue CPA Global over alleged systematic and widespread overcharging of clients for patent renewal services.
Supreme Court to hear appeal against defective service ruling in law firm negligence case
The Supreme Court will hear an appeal in November by a litigant in person over the defective service of a negligence claim against a Midlands law firm, it has been confirmed. The Court of Appeal agreed with Wright Hassall last spring that the litigant’s service of a claim form as an attachment to an email could not be regarded as good service.
Exclusive: Law firms face off in High Court over lead solicitor role for VW group action
Two law firms are in the High Court this week, battling it out to be named the lead solicitors in the group action being taken over the Volkswagen emissions scandal, Litigation Futures can reveal. The face-off comes ahead of a hearing next month on whether to grant a group litigation order in the case.
Blog
Hands up who knows what litigation financiers sell?
If your answer was ‘money’, you would be correct but sadly out of step with the prevailing thinking. If, however, you asked some other litigation financiers the same question, you would very likely receive answers like ‘project management skills’, or ‘an experienced litigation partner’. Whilst none of these answers are wrong per se, they do rather miss the point of why lawyers and clients engage with funders. Experienced and successful litigators do not want the views of litigation financiers on how to project manage their litigation – they want access to their cash pure and simple.
October 19th, 2017
Associate News
FCA regulation for litigation funders – it should be the law
ATE insurance in action – successful £5m professional negligence judgment for ‘Giambrone’ claimants
ATE Market Instability
Phoenix Legal benefits from smoother case progression with Eclipse Compact, the legal software solution for small law firms
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