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Civil way: 12 November 2021

10 November 2021 / Stephen Gold
Issue: 7956 / Categories: Features , Procedure & practice , Civil way
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Seconds out over statements; B&PC disclosure lite; Landlords at the double; Insolvency PD; Land Registry fees up

WITNESS STATEMENT PUNCH-UP

Factual witness statements in the Business and Property Courts (B&PC) are purgatory. Those aggrieved are giving serious consideration to the protest blockage of all accessways to the RCJ with copies of the Green Book and downloads of PD 57A and its statement of best practice glued to the ground.

Mansion Place Ltd v Fox Industrial Services Ltd [2021] EWHC 2747 (TCC) ought to discourage satellite litigation on compliance disputes. In this case, the three-day shorter trial building dispute was due to kick off on 18 October 2021. Four days earlier Mrs Justice O’Farrell and the rest of the cast were occupied for a one-day battle over compliance cross-applications which ended with some redactions here and some redactions there and an indication that costs should be in the case. Here’s the meat.

‘Give us a break’ Where non-compliance is alleged, the parties should attempt to reach an agreement. If not

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MOVERS & SHAKERS

Carey Olsen—Kim Paiva

Carey Olsen—Kim Paiva

Group partner joins Guernsey banking and finance practice

Morgan Lewis—Kat Gibson

Morgan Lewis—Kat Gibson

London labour and employment team announces partner hire

Foot Anstey McKees—Chris Milligan & Michael Kelly

Foot Anstey McKees—Chris Milligan & Michael Kelly

Double partner appointment marks Belfast expansion

NEWS
The Ministry of Justice (MoJ) has not done enough to protect the future sustainability of the legal aid market, MPs have warned
Writing in NLJ this week, NLJ columnist Dominic Regan surveys a landscape marked by leapfrog appeals, costs skirmishes and notable retirements. With an appeal in Mazur due to be heard next month, Regan notes that uncertainties remain over who will intervene, and hopes for the involvement of the Lady Chief Justice and the Master of the Rolls in deciding the all-important outcome
After the Southport murders and the misinformation that followed, contempt of court law has come under intense scrutiny. In this week's NLJ, Lawrence McNamara and Lauren Schaefer of the Law Commission unpack proposals aimed at restoring clarity without sacrificing fair trial rights
The latest Home Office figures confirm that stop and search remains both controversial and diminished. Writing in NLJ this week, Neil Parpworth of De Montfort University analyses data showing historically low use of s 1 PACE powers, with drugs searches dominating what remains
Boris Johnson’s 2019 attempt to shut down Parliament remains a constitutional cautionary tale. The move, framed as a routine exercise of the royal prerogative, was in truth an extraordinary effort to sideline Parliament at the height of the Brexit crisis. Writing in NLJ this week, Professor Graham Zellick KC dissects how prorogation was wrongly assumed to be beyond judicial scrutiny, only for the Supreme Court to intervene unanimously
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