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Stephanie Prior and Patricia Begley analyse how a claim can fail because parties have unintentionally made an agreement ‘This case clearly demonstrates, failure to be clear about the basis on which a settlement is “agreed” may result in one party (at least) being bound by a settlement that they may not have intended.’ Those of …
Continue reading "Negotiations: Settlements and fundamental dishonesty"
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Despite a long history, costs offers remain full of intricacies writes Paul Jones ‘The court accepted, in line with previous authorities, that Part 36 is generally to be considered as a self-contained code for determining costs but this did not usurp the general provisions in CPR 44.2 to make a partial costs order where appropriate …
Continue reading "Costs: The saga of Part 36 continues"
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Christian Taylor explains how to use the Criminal Injuries Compensation Scheme to get the best award for clients ‘Medical evidence is an extremely important factor… as well as pre-incident convictions/character and the extent to which treatment and support has been sought by the applicant since the incident.’The Criminal Injuries Compensation Scheme was enacted to provide …
Continue reading "Compensation: CICA appeals: some practical points"
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Charles Bagot analyses a quartet of new cases produced in the period since December 2014 ‘Some of the decisions in the 21 years between Alcock in 1992 and Taylor in 2013 are difficult to reconcile with one another and have made it harder to find a consistent thread through this line of cases.’ This article …
Continue reading "Psychiatric Injury: Taking a look at secondary victim claims ‘de Novo’"
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Public authority; duty of care; acts or omissions ‘Foulds is a useful reminder of the importance of analysing whether or not a case is, in essence, based on an omission, rather than a positive act, by a public authority.’HHJ Cotter QC followed the important line of legal authorities which significantly restrict the circumstances in which …
Continue reading "Case Report: Foulds v Devon County Council [2015] 9/1/15 Lawtel"
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John McDonald of 2TG considers the vexed question of whether one insurer can challenge another insurer’s avoidance of a motor policy ‘Proceedings for a s152 declaration are usually brought under the accelerated CPR Part 8 procedure on the basis that there is unlikely to be a substantial dispute of fact as to non-disclosure or misrepresentation …
Continue reading "Motor Insurance: Please can I join the party?"
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Philip Turton assesses the effects of the recent clarifications in non-delegable duty case law ‘In the time since Woodland, lawyers have already started looking to other classes of vulnerable persons who might also be protected by such a duty.’ Liability which is imposed without fault is at odds with most cases encountered day to day …
Continue reading "Non-Delegable Duties: Where next after Woodland?"
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With court fees going up more than 500% the time has come for insurers, the NHSLA, the MIB and personal injury firms to use arbitration to settle personal injury and clinical negligence claims, suggests Andrew Ritchie ‘The benefits of arbitration are multiple. All of the inefficiencies and the court fees of the county courts and …
Continue reading "Arbitration: Settling personal injury and clinical negligence claims"
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The courts have once again punished a wholly successful party in costs for their unreasonable refusal to mediate – a trend that is only likely to grow, writes Ben Handy ‘The judge found that there were reasonable prospects that mediation would have succeeded, at least in part. The defendant was not justified in coming to …
Continue reading "Costs Sanctions: Every loser wins"
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Paul Jones gives a warning on the importance of weighing the value of a claim against the possible costs ‘The difference in costs payable for a small claim and the costs payable for a normal claim are substantial and it is, therefore, often worth it for the parties to argue the point.’ Arguments regarding small …
Continue reading "Costs: The small claim that roared"
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