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17 August 2016 / Dominic Regan
Categories: Opinion , Procedure & practice , Costs , CPR , Jackson
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Keeping it civil

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Dominic Regan reviews the litigation year so far

This has been a phenomenal 2016 for those involved in civil litigation. We have acquired a new tort, seen an old head expanded beyond belief and had more twists on the procedural front. And it is still only August.

Supreme work

The Supreme Court has been industrious. In Willers v Joyce [2016] UKSC 43, [2016] All ER (D) 97 (Jul) a full house of nine judges sat and decided, 5-4, that the tort of malicious prosecution includes the prosecution of civil proceedings. The claimant sought damages including the shortfall in costs he incurred after an action against him (alleged to have been motivated by malice), was discontinued at the last moment. The gap was a hefty £2.2m.The claim was leapfrogged to the Supreme Court.

The majority view was that the action was viable and should go to trial. The vociferous minority included Lords Sumption and Neuberger. The President stopped enumerating his grounds for rejecting the

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MOVERS & SHAKERS

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Sidley—James Inness

Sidley—James Inness

Partner joins capital markets team in London office

Haynes Boone—William Cecil

Haynes Boone—William Cecil

Firm announces appointment of partner as UK general counsel

Devonshires—Nicholas Barrows

Devonshires—Nicholas Barrows

Firm appoints first chief marketing officer to drive growth strategy

NEWS
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NLJ this week: CPR tweak closes third-party disclosure gap
A seemingly dry procedural update may prove potent. In his latest 'Civil way' column for NLJ this week, Stephen Gold explains that new CPR 31.12A—part of the 193rd update—fills a ‘lacuna’ exposed in McLaren Indy v Alpa Racing
NLJ this week: Court of Appeals wrestles with Mazur fallout
The long-running Mazur saga edged towards its finale as the Court of Appeal heard arguments on whether non-solicitors can ‘conduct litigation’. Writing in NLJ this week, Professor Dominic Regan of City Law School reports from a packed courtroom where 16 wigs watched Nick Bacon KC argue that Mr Justice Sheldon had failed to distinguish between ‘tasks and responsibilities’
NLJ this week: Appeal court reins in ‘wrong defendant’ switcheroo

The Court of Appeal has slammed the brakes on claimants trying to swap defendants after limitation has expired. In Adcamp LLP v Office Properties and BDB Pitmans v Lee [2026] EWCA Civ 50, it overturned High Court rulings that had allowed substitutions under s 35(6)(b) of the Limitation Act 1980, reports Sarah Crowther of DAC Beachcroft in this week's NLJ

NLJ this week: Driving test fraudsters steer towards jail
Cheating in driving tests is surging—and courts are responding firmly. Writing in NLJ this week, Neil Parpworth of De Montfort Law School charts a rise in impersonation and tech-assisted fraud, with 2,844 attempts recorded in a year
NLJ this week: Deepfakes demand data law muscle
As AI-generated ‘deepfake’ images proliferate, the law may already have the tools to respond. In NLJ this week, Jon Belcher of Excello Law argues that such images amount to personal data processing under UK GDPR
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