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10 June 2020 / HHJ Karen Walden-Smith
Issue: 7890 / Categories: Features , Procedure & practice , Covid-19
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Global thinking: making a withdrawal

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HHJ Karen Walden-Smith outlines why the courts should take a global approach to applications to resile, while serving the interests of justice
  • Wood v Days Healthcare UK Limited: clear authority as to how the courts are to approach an application to resile from an admission of causation, with a clear shift away from holding a defendant to their admission.
  • Standing back from Wood: justifying the withdrawal of an admission under CPR rule 14.1 is not straightforward.

The decision of the Court of Appeal in Wood v Days Healthcare UK Limited[2017] EWCA Civ 2097, [2017] All ER (D) 92 (Dec)gave clear authority as to how the courts are to approach an application to resile from an admission of causation. Itsignalled a clear shift away from holding a defendant to their admission. Further decisions indicate that it is the interests of the administration of justice which are paramount.

CPR 14.1B

Rule 14.1B of the CPR applies with respect to a

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