header-logo header-logo

Home Login E-newsletter About us
12 December 2025 / Amy Dunkley
Issue: 8143 / Categories: Features , Profession , Costs , Dispute resolution
printer mail-detail

Lost in obscurity?

© Copyright LexisNexis 2026. All Rights Reserved.
238280
The High Court has ruled on vague points of dispute. Amy Dunkley reports
  • In Ward v Rai, the High Court has overturned a decision to let a non-compliant point of dispute stand, meaning the receiving party could not rely on a more detailed schedule that had been served only two working days before the detailed assessment hearing.
  • Practitioners should ensure that points of dispute contain sufficient particularisation for the receiving party to work out what is in dispute and why.

The judgment in Ward v Rai [2025] EWHC 1681 (KB) is the latest in a receiving party’s arsenal against points of dispute that are too vague. It follows the decisions in Wazen v Khan [2024] EWHC 1083 (SCCO) and St Francis Group 1 Ltd & Ors v Kelly & Anor [2025] EWHC 125 (SCCO), which confirmed that the judgment in Ainsworth v Stewarts Law LLP [2020] EWCA Civ 178 applied to detailed assessments between the parties.

The legal framework

Points of dispute must comply with CPR

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

Read All
Sponsored by
TheGazette LogoClick to know more
Bell Yard Kysen—Liz Giles

Bell Yard Kysen—Liz Giles

Bell Yard Kysen appoints senior legal PR and ex-government communications adviser, Liz Giles

Clarke Willmott—Lee Edwards

Clarke Willmott—Lee Edwards

Clarke Willmott boosts Southampton commercial property team with addition of partner Lee Edwards

Lime Solicitors—four promotions

Lime Solicitors—four promotions

Lime Solicitors announces four promotions

NEWS
Read All
Law Officers mark 25 years of Pro Bono Week
The Attorney General, Ellie Reeves KC MP, and Solicitor General, Andy Slaughter KC MP, marked the 25th anniversary of Pro Bono Week by joining lawyers, charities, students and parliamentarians at events celebrating voluntary legal work
NLJ this week: Debts, disputes & digital bluster
A polished legal defence may owe more to artificial intelligence than legal merit—and creditors risk paying the price in delay and expense
NLJ this week: Who shaped the witness’s story?
Witness evidence can be compromised by AI before a solicitor sees the draft, leaving safeguards focused on authorship incomplete
NLJ this week: Possession’s digital pitfalls
Possession claims are entering a new digital era, with procedural traps awaiting practitioners who assume familiar rules still govern every step
NLJ this week: Beyond environmental offences
The Environment Agency can prosecute offences beyond environmental legislation where proceedings support its statutory functions, the Divisional Court has confirmed
Copyright © 2026 LexisNexis
back-to-top-scroll