Dominic Regan notes that the courts are following Mitchell ruling
The Mitchell decision on costs was no one-off and lawyers who miss deadlines do so at their own peril, a leading commentator has warned.
Writing for NLJ, Professor Dominic Regan points out that the Court of Appeal has since affirmed Mitchell twice.
“While the senior judiciary has, as we shall see, utterly accepted the new strict approach to default, I hear many stories of district judges still applying the old approach,” says Regan, who assisted Lord Justice Jackson in his civil litigation costs review.
“Their game is dangerous as appeals are probable.”
He also details some high court decisions by Mr Justice Turner who, he says, “has utterly grasped the plot”.
He warns: “The simple lesson is to abide by time limits and to move like lightning where applications need to be made.”
Mitchell v News Group [2013] EWCA Civ 1537 involved a missed deadline during Andrew Mitchell MP’s libel claim against News Group. His legal team were refused relief against sanctions and consequently lost the right to claim costs if they won other than their court fees.
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