Apil president attacks “fundamental dishonesty”

New Association of Personal Injury Lawyers (Apil) president Jonathan Wheeler has hit out at the government’s “Orwellian double-speak” over court fees.

Speaking at Apil’s annual conference this week, Wheeler singled out the Criminal Justice and Courts Act 2015 for criticism. Under s 57 of the Act, judges are obliged to strike out personal injury claims where there is a finding of “fundamentally dishonesty”, unless the decision would lead to “substantial injustice”. However, Wheeler asked about defendants who set out to delay a settlement brought on behalf of a terminally ill claimant, because it would be cheaper to pay out on the claim when they are dead. “Why aren’t such defendant practices also caught by legislation?” He went on to brand the recent hikes in civil court fees of up to 600% as “a tax on clients’ misery”. “The government call these ‘enhanced court fees’. Enhanced means ‘improved’. What kind of Orwellian double-speak is being used here?” he said.