Litigation/Dispute Resolution

An elderly litigant in person who said he could not hear a local authority solicitor at a hearing relating to unpaid council tax has succeeded in his judicial review of the decision.

The deputy head of civil justice has questioned the use of costs sanctions as a way to control litigation behaviour and hinted he would like to see the costs rules simplified.

Litigation funder Burford Capital has expanded its initiative to increase diversity in the law by committing $100m (£73m) of dedicated funding to cases led by female or ‘racially diverse’ lawyers.

A High Court judge has strongly criticised a law firm and its client for appearing to blame his clerk for the leak of a draft judgment – which it turned out had not even happened.

A new Video Hearings Service, upgrading the Cloud Video Platform used during Covid, is to be rolled out across courts and tribunals, the Lord Chief Justice has revealed.

Judges are not required to accept ‘uncontroverted’ – ie, unchallenged – evidence from an expert witness without further analysis, the Court of Appeal has ruled.

The Competition Appeal Tribunal’s approval of a second opt-out collective action is likely to open the floodgates to more applications, it has been claimed.

Leading London law firm Withers has fought off a £12m claim on the basis of causation after the High Court ruled that it gave negligent advice to a property developer.

A party whose solicitor overlooked for a year the need to seek a consent order from the court to stay a commercial dispute has been granted relief from sanctions.

Two clients who owe their solicitors £2.3m in outstanding fees, costs and interest have been found guilty of 14 charges of contempt of court.

An expert witness has apologised to the High Court after being told by a judge not to treat giving evidence in court “as a game”.

Listed law firm Gateley has signed a deal with a US-based litigation funder for a £50m facility to back disputes, while funder LCM has announced “robust” results after a tricky year.

Counsel for a defendant in possession proceedings voluntarily disclosed a draft witness statement to her opposing number and in doing so waived privilege, the High Court has ruled.

A year of video hearings does not constitute “a lasting revolution in court service” but it has shown the potential for improving the justice system, Professor Richard Susskind has argued.

Slater & Gordon has failed in what a costs judge called a “full frontal attack” on the business model of the law firm bringing hundreds of claims over deductions made from the damages of former clients.