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
The claimants had sued the wrong firm, wrongly assuming liabilities had transferred. By the time they sought to correct the error, time was up. The court, bound by Adelson, confirmed a ‘mistake’ under s 35(6)(a) means a mistake as to name, not identity, and s 35(6)(b) cannot rescue what Parliament excluded.
The message is blunt: ‘assumptions about successor practices’ are no substitute for suing the right entity in time.
Permission to appeal has been granted—but for now, defendants can breathe easier.
