Pleadings

It was established law that a solicitor who issued proceedings thereby warranted that he had authority to do so. On that basis, a solicitor who acted in litigation without authority to act on behalf of the supposed client was responsible for the costs thereby incurred by the other party. The legal consequence of proceedings being issued without authority was also established.  The proceedings were defective and liable to be struck out on that account, but they were not devoid of legal effect until they were struck out.  Moreover, the court was not bound to strike them out if at the time of the strike out application the client on whose behalf the action was commenced wished it to continue and to accept responsibility for it. The CPR provided that a claim form served without a statement of truth remained effective, and therefore it could not be said that a conforming statement of truth was vital to the existence of a valid