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High Court: Defendant must pay credit hire costs even where claimant has contingent liability for them
A circuit judge was wrong to deny a claimant recovery of £20,000 in credit hire charges because she had been assured that she would never have to pay any outstanding sums herself, the High Court has ruled. Mr Justice Turner said he had been told that the issue was at stake in “a number of outstanding cases”.
Specialist insolvency litigation funder set to list amid growing demand for capital
Specialist third-party funder Manolete Partners is planning to float on the London Stock Exchange so as to satisfy increasing demand for third-party funding from insolvency practitioners here and abroad, its chief executive said today. But it may also move into other areas of litigation in time, he indicated.
Judge slams council for failing in duty of candour to the court
The High Court has slammed a London council for failing in its duty of candour and told lawyers that they have a responsibility to ensure that all those involved in local authorities are comply with their duty. Hundreds of documents were not put before the court during the hearing due to failures at Brent council.
Leading firms collaborate to develop AI-based tech that assesses arguments in litigation
Three leading law firms are collaborating with an Israeli legal tech start-up to develop and test a litigation platform that uses artificial intelligence to automate legal research and argument assessment in relation to High Court applications.
£450,000 costs “not disproportionate” to achieve injunctive relief plus £35,000 damages
It was not disproportionate for a party to spend up to £450,000 to recover £35,000 because it achieved other, non-monetary relief too, the High Court has ruled. The judge said it was wrong to focus solely on the damages in the circumstances, although in any case it was not a nominal sum.
Court of Appeal: No duty of care on council to control roadside vegetation
The Court of Appeal has rejected an attempt by a cyclist to impose a duty of care on central or local government to prevent roadside vegetation from impairing visibility for road users, saying there would “potentially serious and costly consequences” in doing so “for very little practical gain”.
MoJ “considering wider impact” of employment tribunal fees ruling as it ramps up refund efforts
The Ministry of Justice is taking legal advice on the wider implications of last year’s Supreme Court ruling that the introduction of employment tribunal fees was unlawful, it has emerged. It is also writing to everyone who paid a fee but has yet to claim a refund.
Leigh Day set to launch lecturer strike claim next week as it eyes Windrush group action
Group litigation specialist Leigh Day expects to send the first letter of a claim from a student to a university over the lecturer strike next week. Meanwhile, it confirmed yesterday that it is preparing a potential group action against the government on behalf of those who fall under the definition of the ‘Windrush generation’.
Irwin Mitchell highlights value of CFAs after Supreme Court win
Irwin Mitchell has lauded the value of conditional fee agreements after winning in the Supreme Court last week for an NHS worker whose bosses attempted to make her redundant whilst she was on holiday. The landmark ruling could trigger changes to all employment contracts in the UK.
Press regulator bids to make newspapers accept arbitration scheme where they recover no costs
The Independent Press Standards Organisation, the voluntary regulator, is to launch a compulsory version of its dispute resolution scheme that costs claimants just £100 to use – if newspapers sign up to it.
Rowley enters debate over what constitutes “good reason” to depart from budget
Master Rowley has become the latest judge to rule that a reduction in hourly rates for incurred costs is not a good reason to do the same to budgeted costs. The fact the case settled for significantly less than had been claimed was also not a good reason, he found, as the claim was reasonable and not exaggerated.
Commercial Court eyes more examinations-in-chief in review of witness statements
A Commercial Court working party is to examine ways to improve the witness statements process, it has emerged. According to the judge in charge of the court, there is “a fairly widespread feeling that in this area the tools we have at the moment are not doing the trick, and not even saving costs, let alone getting ‘best evidence’”.
Social media abuse discouraging people from becoming judges, LCJ warns
“Dispiriting and sometimes genuinely frightening” abuse on social media is discouraging people from becoming judges, the Lord Chief Justice has warned. In a wide-ranging evidence session before the House of Lords constitution committee, Lord Burnett also called for the retirement age for senior judges to be increased from 70 to 75.
Senior partner who bungled hearing loss claims and lied to the court is struck off
The senior partner of a personal injury firm who bungled 37 noise-induced hearing loss (NIHL) claims and lied to the court has been struck off by the Solicitors Disciplinary Tribunal (SDT). It said that, in an unsuccessful effort to prevent the claims from being struck out, she had made false or misleading statements to the court.
1,000 students and counting – firm has enough claimants to seek university strike GLO
The first law firm to announce its intention to build a group action on behalf of students affected by the university lecturers’ strike says it now has enough claimants to apply for a group litigation order. London firm Asserson said it now has more than 1,000 students signed up and claimed universities could pay £10m each in compensation.
Blog
Three’s a crowd – who pays?
In September 2014 a UKIP MEP, Jane Collins, gave a speech at UKIP’s annual conference slandering three Labour MPs. The following month, a letter of claim on their behalf was sent to Ms Collins. It contained an offer of settlement under which Ms Collins would pay each £10,000 in damages, which they would then pay to charity. UKIP’s National Executive Committee discussed the letter of claim that month and referred Ms Collins to solicitors, RMPI, with whom UKIP had close ties. No settlement having been agreed, in November 2014 the three MPs issued claims against Ms Collins. Temple Legal Protection insured the MPs’ claims.
May 16th, 2018
Associate News
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