header-logo header-logo

A litigation nightmare

27 June 2013 / Tony Allen
Issue: 7566 / Categories: Features , Profession , ADR
printer mail-detail
istock_000006665915medium

Tony Allen explains how mediation can provide a remedy for litigation horror stories

Anyone with an interest in settlement processes as a means of avoiding wasteful litigation will have read the two judgments in Newman v Framewood Manor Management Co Ltd [2012] EWCA Civ 159 and [2012] EWCA Civ 1727 with despair and frustration. If ever there was a set of circumstances that cried out for mediation it was these. The parties were inextricably entwined with each other for years to come, as lessee and management company of the claimant’s home. The claimant’s husband had even at one time been a director of the defendant company. The trial judge was found by the Court of Appeal to have got the main plank of the claimant’s case wrong, requiring large-scale reversal on the merits. The total damages awarded were just under £6,500, of which £1,250 was unchallenged on appeal. Etherton LJ starts the costs judgment with the words: “This is a very sad and unfortunate case, in which the costs of successful litigation far,

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
The Court of Protection has ruled in Macpherson v Sunderland City Council that capacity must be presumed unless clearly rebutted. In this week's NLJ, Sam Karim KC and Sophie Hurst of Kings Chambers dissect the judgment and set out practical guidance for advisers faced with issues relating to retrospective capacity and/or assessments without an examination
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
Charles Pigott of Mills & Reeve charts the turbulent progress of the Employment Rights Bill through the House of Lords, in this week's NLJ
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
back-to-top-scroll