RTA claim struck out over missed deadlines
An RTA claim has been struck out after lawyers missed deadlines, reinforcing the courts’ post-Jackson strictness on non-compliance.
In Biffa Waste Services v Ali Dinler & Ors (unreported, 10 October 2013), the claimant’s lawyers filed witness statements 27 days late and just two hours before the second deadline, so the court did not receive the statements until the day before the trial. They also failed to file a pre-trial checklist, and did not agree the contents of the trial bundle until the day before trial. The district judge declined the defendant’s call for the case to be struck out, and applied costs sanctions.
The defendants successfully appealed. Mrs Justice Swift held that the judge had erred in granting relief from sanctions.
Personal injury barrister Jeremy Ford, of 9 Gough Square, says: “This case reiterates that parties now fail to comply with the CPR at their peril. The days where a defaulting party could rely heavily upon a lack of prejudice to their opponent to justify court leniency for non-compliance are over. Expect the Court of Appeal to reinforce this on 7 November when it considers the new CPR Rule 3.9 for the first time in Andrew Mitchell v News Group Newspapers Limited.”
