Opportunities & threats

What follows Mitchell?

Primarily prompted by a desire to reduce the cost of litigation, the Jackson Reforms altered other parts of the Civil Procedure Rules (CPR). More robust case management powers, driven by a revision to the overriding objective requiring cases to be dealt with “justly and at proportionate cost”, coupled with a new test of proportionality aimed at applications for relief from sanctions under CPR 3.9, were added to stringent cost budgeting requirements.

Lord Justice Jackson recognised that allowing litigants too much latitude in case preparation can result in significant wasted costs and an inefficient system. The Court of Appeal picked up this theme in Mitchell v News Group Newspapers Ltd [2013] EWCA Civ 1537, [2013] All ER (D) 314 (Nov). It sent the clear message that non-trivial failures to comply with court timetables will no longer be accepted. Cases following Mitchell