Will my hearing go ahead? Civil Procedure, Human Rights and the Coronavirus – Blackstone Chambers

‘In light of the COVID-19 outbreak and the protective measures which the UK government has introduced, litigators across the country are asking one burning question: will hearings go ahead, and if so how?’

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Blackstone Chambers, 18th March 2020

Source: www.blackstonechambers.com

No whiplash rules until May as clock ticks down to launch – Legal Fututes

‘Personal injury law firms and insurers look unlikely to have sight of the new rules governing the whiplash portal until May as they were not signed off at this month’s meeting of the Civil Procedure Rule Committee (CPRC), it has emerged.’

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Legal Futures, 17th March 2020

Source: www.legalfutures.co.uk

Denton Resource – St John’s Chambers

‘This most recent edition of the Denton Resource includes, in a thematic at-a-glance format, over 200 post-Denton cases decided up to 31 December 2019. It will be of interest to practitioners in all fields of civil litigation dealing with applications where the three-stage Denton approach is to be applied.’

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St John's Chambers, 10th February 2020

Source: www.stjohnschambers.co.uk

Judges to have wider powers in contempt rules rewrite – Litigation Futures

Posted March 11th, 2020 in civil procedure rules, contempt of court, court dress, judiciary, news by tracey

‘Judges could be handed wider powers to take the initiative over contempt of court in draft rules proposed by the Civil Procedure Rule Committee (CPRC).’

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Litigation Futures, 11th March 2020

Source: www.litigationfutures.com

MoJ: Three months is enough to prepare for whiplash reforms – Legal Futures

‘Three months should be enough time for personal injury law firms and defendant insurers to be ready for the whiplash reforms, the government official leading the work said yesterday.’

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Legal Futures, 3rd March 2020

Source: www.legalfutures.co.uk

County Court considers costs rules in personal injury case (Khan v Aviva Insurance Ltd) – Hardwicke Chambers

Posted March 3rd, 2020 in civil procedure rules, costs, county courts, damages, news, personal injuries by sally

‘Practitioners will be familiar with cases where costs are assessed according to the principles applicable in different tracks. In such circumstances, Khan v Aviva is of practical assistance by reaffirming the court’s general discretion to award issue-based costs, despite the presence of more restrictive costs regimes. The case therefore provides a helpful route to resisting adverse costs orders.’

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Hardwicke Chambers, 21st February 2020

Source: hardwicke.co.uk

Claimant who exited portal by error avoids fixed costs – Litigation Futures

Posted February 28th, 2020 in accidents, civil procedure rules, compensation, costs, news, personal injuries by tracey

‘A costs judge was entitled to find that a case that erroneously exited the portal would have done so legitimately at some stage and so the claimant was entitled to regular, rather than fixed, costs, the High Court has ruled.’

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Litigation Futures, 27th February 2020

Source: www.litigationfutures.com

CJC sets out rule changes to help vulnerable witnesses – Litigation Futures

‘The Civil Justice Council (CJC) has set out detailed changes it believes should be made to the Civil Procedure Rules to help vulnerable parties and witnesses, including an amended overriding objective.’

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Litigation Futures, 25th February 2020

Source: www.litigationfutures.com

Extended pilot of fully video hearings made opt-out – Legal Futures

Posted February 21st, 2020 in civil procedure rules, live link evidence, news, pilot schemes, trials by sally

‘A pilot of fully video hearings in the civil courts is to be extended and turned from opt-in to opt-out, the Civil Procedure Rule Committee (CPRC) has decided.’

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Legal Futures, 21st February 2020

Source: www.legalfutures.co.uk

Ainsworth v Stewarts Law – the Court of Appeal gives guidance on solicitor/client costs disputes – Hardwicke Chambers

‘This decision is important for any professional involved in solicitor and client disputes. The judgment is another example of the senior courts being willing to uphold robust case management decisions of first instance judges. Here the court held that “the judge was entitled to take the course he did which was well within the ambit of the proper exercise of his discretion.”’

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Hardwicke Chambers, 19th February 2020

Source: hardwicke.co.uk

The Second Appeals Test in Immigration Law – Richmond Chambers

‘In this post, we explain the Second Appeals test and note some recent developments in the area.’

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Richmond Chambers, 14th February 2020

Source: immigrationbarrister.co.uk

QOCS rule to change but not in relation to Tomlin orders – Litigation Futures

Posted February 18th, 2020 in civil procedure rules, costs, news, personal injuries by sally

‘An urgently needed amendment to the rules on qualified one-way costs shifting (QOCS) in so-called mixed claims will come into force in the coming weeks, the Civil Procedure Rule Committee (CPRC) has decided.’

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Litigation Futures, 18th February 2020

Source: www.litigationfutures.com

Clinical negligence and PI costs – Law Society’s Gazette

Posted February 17th, 2020 in civil procedure rules, compensation, costs, delay, negligence, news, personal injuries by sally

‘Following the decision in I v Hull & East Yorkshire Hospitals NHS Trust (25 February 2019), applications for a further interim payment on account of costs have become common in high-value clinical negligence and personal injury claims where there is likely to be substantial delay before quantum can be determined by the court. In the recent decision in RXK v Hampshire Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust [2019] EWHC 2751 (QB), Master Cook observed that there was no decision of the High Court on the principle of whether such applications are well founded and have an adequate judicial basis in the rules and/or the authorities. Thus, the master took the opportunity in RXK to provide guidance ‘in the hope that such applications would be better prepared in future’.’

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Law Society's Gazette, 17th February 2020

Source: www.lawgazette.co.uk

Court fee can be claimed from defendants despite exemption – Litigation Futures

Posted January 28th, 2020 in civil procedure rules, costs, fees, news, part 36 offers by tracey

‘There are “strong public policy grounds” for allowing fee-exempt claimants to claim their court fees from defendants rather than the taxpayer, a judge has ruled.’

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Litigation Futures, 28th January 2020

Source: www.litigationfutures.com

The case for judicial early neutral evaluation – Law Society’s Gazette

Posted January 27th, 2020 in case management, civil procedure rules, dispute resolution, news by sally

‘Perhaps an overlooked provision of the CPR is rule 3.1(2)(m) which provides that the court may ‘take any other step or make any other order for the purpose of managing the case and furthering the overriding objective, including hearing an early neutral evaluation with the aim of helping the parties settle the case’.’

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Law Society's Gazette, 27th January 2020

Source: www.lawgazette.co.uk

Part 36 offers made exclusive of interest not valid, Court of Appeal rules – Local Government Lawyer

Posted January 21st, 2020 in civil procedure rules, costs, interest, news, part 36 offers by sally

‘It is not possible to make a valid Part 36 offer exclusive of interest either generally or in the context of detailed assessment proceedings, the Court of Appeal has ruled in a case involving a local authority.’

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Local Government Lawyer, 20th January 2020

Source: www.localgovernmentlawyer.co.uk

Fixed Costs in Civil Proceedings – Becket Chambers

Posted January 9th, 2020 in civil procedure rules, costs, news, pre-action conduct, small claims by sally

‘The Civil Procedure Rules (CPR) provide for fixed costs in certain elements of civil proceedings, including Small Claims, Fast Track hearings, ‘Stage 3’ hearings and possession claims. This means that any costs applied for that are not those within the fixed costs regimes are unlikely to be awarded by the Court, unless certain factors apply.’

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Becket Chambers, 3rd January 2020

Source: becket-chambers.co.uk

CA: Litigants do not owe duty of care to opponents – Litigation Futures

‘Litigants do not owe a duty of care to their opponents, the Court of Appeal has made clear.’

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Litigation Futures, 18th December 2019

Source: www.litigationfutures.com

Part 36 offers cannot exclude interest to be valid – Litigation Futures

Posted December 20th, 2019 in appeals, civil procedure rules, costs, interest, news, part 36 offers by tracey

‘Part 36 offers which specifically exclude interest are not valid, the Court of Appeal has ruled – but one of the judges said this should be reconsidered.’

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Litigation Futures, 19th December 2019

Source: www.litigationfutures.com

High Court limits scope of provisional assessment appeals – Litigation Futures

Posted December 16th, 2019 in appeals, civil procedure rules, costs, news, oral hearings by tracey

‘A party’s right to appeal from an oral hearing that follows a provisional assessment is limited to decisions made at the hearing, the High Court has ruled.’

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Litigation Futures, 16th December 2019

Source: www.litigationfutures.com