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Civil way: 17 May 2019

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16 May 2019
Issue: 7840 / Categories: Features , Procedure & practice , Civil way
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Cut to the chase; thou shalt go CE; interesting mismatch; landlords still lamenting

PLEADING AWFUL

Net of cover pages, indices and appendices, the amended particulars of claim ran to 63 pages, the amended defence and counterclaim to 75 pages, the amended reply and defence to counterclaim to 76 pages and the draft amended defence and counterclaim to 91 pages. Longer than they should have been. That was the verdict of Pepperall J in Essex County Council v UBB Waste (Essex) (Ltd [2019] EWHC 819 (TCC) (judgment 19 pages) on an application for permission to reamend the defence and counterclaim. Prolixity risked losing sight of the purpose of statements of case. The usual expectation was that parties should be able to plead their cases in no more than 25 pages. CPD PD16 para 1.4 provided that if ‘exceptionally’ a statement of case exceeded 25 pages, an appropriate short summary should also be filed and served. The Commercial Court Guide drew attention to the usual limit and required parties to seek permission before filing a

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MOVERS & SHAKERS

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NEWS
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Public Accounts Committee warn of ‘extinction’ risk for legal aid
The Ministry of Justice (MoJ) has not done enough to protect the future sustainability of the legal aid market, MPs have warned
NLJ this week: The insider returns
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
NLJ this week: Drawing the line on contempt
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
NLJ this week: Stop and search by the numbers
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
NLJ this week: Looking back on the prorogation that never was
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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