General liability newsletter - August 2019

The latest general liability news coming out of the courts.

This edition covers: 

Discount rate review

The Lord Chancellor has announced that with effect from 5 August 2019, the personal injury discount rate will be amended from -0.75% to -0.25%.  Read more

A Defence filed late may be relied upon provided the Court has not yet entered judgment

There was an important High Court decision on 18 July 2019 which, although likely to proceed to the Court of Appeal, sets out the current law in relation to the late filing of an Acknowledgement of Service or a Defence in relation to an application for default judgment.  Read more

All claims started in EL/PL Portal treated as Fast Track and subject to fixed costs unless ordered otherwise

In claims commenced under the Protocol for low injury claims with a value of up to £25,000, the Civil Procedure Rules (CPR) prescribe formulas for fixed legal costs to which a successful Claimant is entitled upon settlement of the claim.  Read more

Discontinuing a dishonest claim does not avoid the risk of contempt proceedings

David Romaine (aged 69) brought a claim for Noise Induced Hearing Loss allegedly arising from exposure to noise whilst working for two employers between 1965 and 1985.  Read more

Overriding objective does not require a party to notify an opponent of procedural errors

In Woodward & another v Phoenix Healthcare Distribution Limited the Claimant’s solicitors attempted to serve the Claim Form on the Defendant’s solicitors two days before expiry of the time allowed for serving a claim which had been issued just one day before the limitation period had expired, nearly four months earlier.  Read more

Applications to withdraw admissions

In previous bulletins we have explained the profound difficulty of persuading the Court to allow an admission of fact or liability to be withdrawn, whilst acknowledging that this is possible if the Court decides that the interests of justice justify it.   Read more

Evidence of alleged defect in the road must be supported by reliable evidence

In Miranda Walsh v The Council of the Borough of Kirklees (5 March 2019), the High Court upheld the decision of the County Court dismissing the Claimant’s claim against a highway authority.  Read more