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11 July 2025
Issue: 8124 / Categories: Legal News , Profession , Procedure & practice , Expert Witness , Costs , Freezing orders , Tort
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NLJ this week: The insider on blockbuster judgments, fee spats & judicial elevations

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Writing in NLJ this week, columnist Professor Dominic Regan of City Law School surveys a month of judicial impatience with poor litigation practices

In Illiquidx v Altana, a claimant’s vague pleadings cost them 50% of their costs. The Court of Appeal moved at lightning speed in Getty v Stability AI, while Judge Hodge KC imposed a six-page limit on a ‘turgid’ defence in Bellhouse v Zurich. A 682-paragraph judgment in Cabo v MGA yielded no damages, reminding claimants that proving loss is key. In Vanquis v TMS Legal, a novel tort claim over mass meritless complaints proceeds.

Regan also highlights the 50th anniversary of the Mareva injunction, a looming costs battle over medical agency fees, and a decline in expert witness participation amid judicial ‘naming and shaming’. 

MOVERS & SHAKERS

Penningtons Manches Cooper—Jean-François Le Gal

Penningtons Manches Cooper—Jean-François Le Gal

Penningtons Manches Cooper strengthens international disputes team with appointment of leading arbitration partner

Shakespeare Martineau—Aaron Sanders & Kate Saunders

Shakespeare Martineau—Aaron Sanders & Kate Saunders

Shakespeare Martineau strengthens trust and estates disputes team with new appointments

Bellevue Law—Shannon Moore

Bellevue Law—Shannon Moore

Bellevue Law strengthens employment disputes and international advisory capability with senior associate appointment

NEWS
Developers in areas with poorly performing councils can apply directly to the Planning Inspectorate for permission under section 62A of the Town and Country Planning Act 1990
When does a solicitor’s retainer become a contentious business agreement? The Court of Appeal’s decision in Broadfield Law UK LLP v Barnes shows that listing hourly rates alone will not do, leaving firms and clients uncertain about their rights over bills
MPs cannot simply resign their Commons seats. Instead, they take a nominal Crown office, usually the Chiltern Hundreds or Manor of Northstead, which disqualifies them from sitting
A divorced woman has secured funding to participate in her former husband’s inquest after the Legal Aid Agency reconsidered repeated refusals
The Thirlwall Inquiry has exposed a ‘complete failure’ to protect babies at the Countess of Chester Hospital, but its recommendations must now be put into practice
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