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10 November 2021 / Stephen Gold
Issue: 7956 / Categories: Features , Procedure & practice , Civil way
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Civil way: 12 November 2021

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

Thackray Williams—Lucy Zhu

Thackray Williams—Lucy Zhu

Dual-qualified partner joins as head of commercial property department

Morgan Lewis—David A. McManus

Morgan Lewis—David A. McManus

Firm announces appointment of next chair

Burges Salmon—Rebecca Wilsker

Burges Salmon—Rebecca Wilsker

Director joins corporate team from the US

NEWS
What safeguards apply when trust corporations are appointed as deputy by the Court of Protection? 
Disputing parties are expected to take part in alternative dispute resolution (ADR), where this is suitable for their case. At what point, however, does refusing to participate cross the threshold of ‘unreasonable’ and attract adverse costs consequences?
When it comes to free legal advice, demand massively outweighs supply. 'Millions of people are excluded from access to justice as they don’t have anywhere to turn for free advice—or don’t know that they can ask for help,' Bhavini Bhatt, development director at the Access to Justice Foundation, writes in this week's NLJ
When an ex-couple is deciding who gets what in the divorce or civil partnership dissolution, when is it appropriate for a third party to intervene? David Burrows, NLJ columnist and solicitor advocate, considers this thorny issue in this week’s NLJ
NLJ's latest Charities Appeals Supplement has been published in this week’s issue
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