Procedure

It was established law that the expectation was that the sanction in CPR 3.14 would usually apply unless: (i) the breach was trivial; or (ii) there was good reason for it.  While the court had power to grant relief, the expectation was that, unless (i) or (ii) was satisfied, the two factors mentioned in the rule would usually trump other circumstances. That in determining otherwise under CPR 3.14, the court was not entertaining an application for relief from sanctions under CPR 3.9 as such but that the principles to be applied were likely to be the same. 

Leaving matters to the last minute was inconsistent with conducting litigation efficiently and the thrust of the new overriding objective of dealing with litigation justly and at proportionate cost. Early preparation was much more likely to lead to a narrowing of issues between the parties or even agreement of budgets, saving time at the first hearing, thereby freeing up court time to be allocated to other matters.