header-logo header-logo

Home Login E-newsletter About us
17 March 2011 / Janna Purdie , Ruth Pratt
Issue: 7457 / Categories: Features , LexisPSL
printer mail-detail

DR terminology

© Copyright LexisNexis 2026. All Rights Reserved.

Janna Purdie & Ruth Pratt look at “causes of action” & go back to basics

Litigation is littered with terminology but how often do we stop to think about what these terms mean and how they impact on the strategy we adopt in a case?

In a recent Court of Appeal judgment Longmore LJ found himself going back to basics to explain a “cause of action”, perhaps one of the most pivotal terms in litigation (Berezovsky v Abramovich [2011] EWCA Civ 153, [2011] All ER (D) 253 (Feb)).

Mr Abramovich had taken issue with amendments proposed by Mr Berezovsky on the basis they constituted new claims and were time barred by s 35 of the Limitation Act 1980 (the Act). Longmore LJ gave the leading judgment with which LJJ Stanley Burnton and Laws agreed.

While one might think it would be a straightforward exercise to determine whether amendments constituted a new claim, that is not how it was approached in this case. Longmore LJ noted he was not persuaded by Mr Abramovich’s “rather

If you are not a subscriber, subscribe now to read this content
If you are already a subscriber sign in
...or Register for two weeks' free access to subscriber content

MOVERS & SHAKERS

Read All
Sponsored by
Carey Olsen—Patrick Ormond

Carey Olsen—Patrick Ormond

Partner joinscorporate and finance practice in British Virgin Islands

Dawson Cornwell—Naomi Angell

Dawson Cornwell—Naomi Angell

Firm strengthens children department with adoption and surrogacy expert

Penningtons Manches Cooper—Graham Green

Penningtons Manches Cooper—Graham Green

Media and technology expert joins employment team as partner in Cambridge

NEWS
Read All
NLJ this week: Divorce ‘nuclear weapon’ freezes assets but entangles outsiders
Freezing orders in divorce proceedings can unexpectedly ensnare third parties and disrupt businesses. In NLJ this week, Lucy James of Trowers & Hamlins explains how these orders—dubbed a ‘nuclear weapon’—preserve assets but can extend far beyond spouses to companies and business partners 
NLJ this week: What counts as ‘rent’? Court says labour alone won’t do
A Court of Appeal ruling has clarified that ‘rent’ must be monetary—excluding tenants paid in labour from statutory protection. In this week's NLJ, James Naylor explains Garraway v Phillips, where a tenant worked two days a week instead of paying rent
Your magistrates’ court needs you!
Thousands more magistrates are to be recruited, under a major shake-up to speed up and expand the hiring process
NLJ this week: Freed but failed—justice system leaves the innocent empty-handed
Three men wrongly imprisoned for a combined 77 years have been released—yet received ‘not a penny’ in compensation, exposing deep flaws in the justice system. Writing in NLJ this week, Dr Jon Robins reports on Justin Plummer, Oliver Campbell and Peter Sullivan, whose convictions collapsed amid discredited forensics, ‘oppressive’ police interviews and unreliable ‘cell confessions’
NLJ this week: Clarity on whistleblowing, settlements and tribunal limits
A quiet month for employment cases still delivers key legal clarifications. In his latest Employment Law Brief for NLJ, Ian Smith reports that whistleblowing protection remains intact even where disclosures are partly self-serving, provided the worker reasonably believes they serve the ‘public interest’ 
Copyright © 2026 LexisNexis
back-to-top-scroll