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22 April 2016
Issue: 7695 / Categories: Features , Civil way , Procedure & practice
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Civil way: 22 April 2016

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Forgiveness is rationed; HMRC: Licence to plunder; Knives out for solicitors’ agents; & Family Rules OK!

HARD TIMES FOR DEFAULTERS

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Here’s a quote for you to relish and pull out at the least possible provocation. It is a quality quote because it fell from the lips of Vos LJ. “The court cannot ignore that insurers are professional litigants who can properly be held responsible for any blatant disregard of their own commercial interests.” It fell in the personal injury case of Gentry v Miller and another [2016] EWCA Civ 141, [2016] All ER (D) 107 (Mar) where the Court of Appeal reminded that the Denton test on sanction relief also applied to an application to set aside a default judgment. It additionally suggested that the very same test would apply to a CPR 39.3 application to set aside after a failure to attend.

In Gentry an assessment of damages at £75,000 with costs at £13,000 had followed a default judgment with neither the defendant driving tortfeaser nor his insurers participating. The insurers had previously

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MOVERS & SHAKERS

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NEWS
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‘Lost years’ precedent overturned
Children can claim for ‘lost years’ damages in personal injury cases, the Supreme Court has held in a landmark judgment
NLJ this week: Neutral counsel in a polarised age
The cab-rank rule remains a bulwark of the rule of law, yet lawyers are increasingly judged by their clients’ causes. Writing in NLJ this week, Ian McDougall, president of the LexisNexis Rule of Law Foundation, warns that conflating representation with endorsement is a ‘clear and present danger’
NLJ this week: Short lets & sharp covenants
Holiday lets may promise easy returns, but restrictive covenants can swiftly scupper plans. Writing in NLJ this week, Andrew Francis of Serle Court recounts how covenants limiting use to a ‘private dwelling house’ or ‘private residence’ have repeatedly defeated short-term letting schemes
NLJ this week: Justice at the algorithm’s edge
Artificial intelligence (AI) is already embedded in the civil courts, but regulation lags behind practice. Writing in NLJ this week, Ben Roe of Baker McKenzie charts a landscape where AI assists with transcription, case management and document handling, yet raises acute concerns over evidence, advocacy and even judgment-writing
NLJ this week: When ‘milk’ really means milk
The Supreme Court has drawn a firm line under branding creativity in regulated markets. In Dairy UK Ltd v Oatly AB, it ruled that Oatly’s ‘post-milk generation’ trade mark unlawfully deployed a protected dairy designation. In NLJ this week, Asima Rana of DWF explains that the court prioritised ‘regulatory clarity over creative branding choices’, holding that ‘designation’ extends beyond product names to marketing slogans
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