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23 March 2007 / Andrew Butler
Issue: 7265 / Categories: Features , Legal services , Profession
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Get your fax right

CPR Pt 6 is fraught with technical difficulties. Andrew Butler reports on recent developments

In Hart Investments Ltd v Fidler and another [2006] EWHC 2857 (TCC), [2006] All ER (D) 232 (Nov) Judge Coulson QC was confronted with an application by the second defendant, the liquidator of a company called Larchpark Ltd, to set aside a judgment in default of acknowledgement of service. The application gave rise to a number of questions of practice and procedure relating to the question of service of process.

The central question before the judge was whether or not the time for filing the acknowledgment had expired when the judgment was entered. This depended on whether service by fax had been valid, and if it had not, what the deemed date was of service by post.

Service by fax

The question of whether service by fax was valid in turn depended on whether the defendant had given a ‘sufficient written indication’ of its willingness to accept service in that way, within the meaning of para 3.1 of

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NEWS

From blockbuster judgments to procedural shake-ups, the courts are busy reshaping litigation practice. Writing in NLJ this week, Professor Dominic Regan of City Law School hails the Court of Appeal's 'exquisite judgment’ in Mazur restoring the role of supervised non-qualified staff, and highlights a ‘mammoth’ damages ruling likened to War and Peace, alongside guidance on medical reporting fees, where a pragmatic 25% uplift was imposed

Momentum is building behind proposals to restrict children’s access to social media—but the legal and practical challenges are formidable. In NLJ this week, Nick Smallwood of Mills & Reeve examines global moves, including Australia’s under-16 ban and the UK's consultation
Reforms designed to rebalance landlord-tenant relations may instead penalise leaseholders themselves. In this week's NLJ, Mike Somekh of The Freehold Collective warns that the Leasehold and Freehold Reform Act 2024 risks creating an ‘underclass’ of resident-controlled freehold companies
Timing is everything—and the Court of Appeal has delivered clarity on when proceedings are ‘brought’. In his latest 'Civil way' column for NLJ, Stephen Gold explains that a claim is issued for limitation purposes when the claim form is delivered to the court, even if fees are underpaid
The traditional ‘single, intensive day’ of financial dispute resolution (FDR) may be due for a rethink. Writing in NLJ this week, Rachel Frost-Smith and Lauren Guiler of Birketts propose a ‘split FDR’ model, separating judicial evaluation from negotiation
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