Back to square one?

Denton v TH White Limited & others [2014] EWCA Civ 906, [2014] All ER (D) 53 (Jul) was a talking point for all civil litigators. The Court of Appeal (consisting of the Master of the Rolls, Vos LJ and, significantly given the context of the case, Jackson LJ) purported to clarify and amplify guidance previously given by the same court in the now infamous case of Mitchell v News Group Newspapers Limited [2013] EWCA Civ 1537, [2014] 2 All ER 430. As the Court of Appeal in Denton expressly acknowledged, its review of Mitchell was required in order to stem the flow of satellite litigation in the lower courts which had arisen as parties tried to apply the Mitchell guidance in practice.

The facts

Denton v TH White Ltd & others was in fact a conjoined appeal in three cases: D enton v TH White Limited ( Denton ); Decadent Vapours Limited v