Court of Appeal ruling confirms that a "degree of toughness" is required
A judge who gave the police extra time to prepare witness statements in a race discrimination case did not apply the “degree of toughness” required following the Andrew Mitchell MP costs case, the Court of Appeal has ruled.
It is the Court’s first citing of the landmark decision in Mitchell v News Group Newspapers Limited [2013] EWCA Civ 1537, in which relief from sanctions was refused to Mitchell’s legal team after they failed to meet deadlines for setting the costs budget in his libel action. Consequently, Mitchell’s lawyers will be able to recover no more than their court fees if they win.
The case was widely acknowledged to herald a new era of judicial toughness as the courts interpret the Jackson civil litigation reforms.
Lord Justice Richards referred to Mitchell in the judgment, Durrant v Avon & Somerset Constabulary [2013] EWCA Civ 1624, published this week, which concerned a decision to grant relief from sanctions for failing to serve witness statements in time. The police said the delay was caused by snow, Christmas, “adverse weather and operational commitments of the officers”.
Overturning Judge Birtles’ decision to grant relief, Richards LJ said: “We have already acknowledged that in the present case Judge Birtles did not have the benefit of the guidance in Mitchell.
“In the light of that guidance, however, we have no doubt that he erred in principle and reached a decision that was plainly wrong.”
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