header-logo header-logo

In the heat of battle...

10 November 2017 / Dominic Regan
Issue: 7769 / Categories: Features , Profession
printer mail-detail

Dominic Regan recounts tales of momentous show downs, fibbing & worse in & out of court

Trial represents the culmination of a dispute. Like a boxing match, two opponents enter the ring, each believing they will win. One is going to be disappointed. Worse still, each party will be confronted by a hostile opponent. To cap it all, a testy judge can let rip. Those considerations regularly provoke settlement, with particular emphasis on ADR. However, a steady flow of optimists fight on.

Prove it or lose it

Anything and everything can go wrong. Marathon Asset Management LLP v Seddon (2017) 2 Costs LR 255. The claimant had rejected a Pt 36 offer to settle pitched at £1.5m. The trial did not quite go to plan. While there was breach there was no evidence of consequential loss. A slightly lower award of £1 was made. Prove it or lose it as the old litigation adage goes.

Tales from the dock

Experts are regularly paid large sums of money for their litigation opinions. I felt

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

Birketts—trainee cohort

Birketts—trainee cohort

Firm welcomes new cohort of 29 trainee solicitors for 2025

Keoghs—four appointments

Keoghs—four appointments

Four partner hires expand legal expertise in Scotland and Northern Ireland

Brabners—Ben Lamb

Brabners—Ben Lamb

Real estate team in Yorkshire welcomes new partner

NEWS
Robert Taylor of 360 Law Services warns in this week's NLJ that adoption of artificial intelligence (AI) risks entrenching disadvantage for SME law firms, unless tools are tailored to their needs
From oligarchs to cosmetic clinics, strategic lawsuits against public participation (SLAPPs) target journalists, activists and ordinary citizens with intimidating legal tactics. Writing in NLJ this week, Sadie Whittam of Lancaster University explores the weaponisation of litigation to silence critics
Delays and dysfunction continue to mount in the county court, as revealed in a scathing Justice Committee report and under discussion this week by NLJ columnist Professor Dominic Regan of City Law School. Bulk claims—especially from private parking firms—are overwhelming the system, with 8,000 cases filed weekly
Writing in NLJ this week, Thomas Rothwell and Kavish Shah of Falcon Chambers unpack the surprise inclusion of a ban on upwards-only rent reviews in the English Devolution and Community Empowerment Bill
Charles Pigott of Mills & Reeve charts the turbulent progress of the Employment Rights Bill through the House of Lords, in this week's NLJ
back-to-top-scroll