Litigation Notes

Pre-action protocols: Civil Justice Council proposes bespoke protocol for commercial cases, including mandatory pre-action "dispute resolution process"

Whether and how the recommendations are implemented will be a matter for the Civil Procedure Rules Committee.

The without prejudice rule: High Court finds there is no separate "mediation privilege"

The decision also proposes modest expansions to two key exceptions to the without prejudice rule

Offers to mediate: It is not the offeror's responsibility to chase a response

The Court of Appeal has overturned a trial judge's refusal to impose costs sanctions on a party who failed to respond to an offer to mediate, where …

Proposed rule changes regarding the court’s power to compel ADR

The Civil Procedure Rule Committee (CPRC) is consulting on draft amendments to the Civil Procedure Rules regarding the court’s power …

High Court refuses to stay proceedings commenced in breach of valid ADR clause

The High Court has exercised its discretion against ordering a stay of proceedings that had been commenced in breach of a clause which obliged the …

Commercial litigation podcast series – Episode 22: General update

Article published - UK compulsory mediation ruling still leaves courts leeway

The Court of Appeal's landmark judgment in Churchill v Merthyr Tydfil County Borough Council, handed down in late November, established that the courts …

Courts can compel parties to engage in ADR: Court of Appeal finds comments to the contrary in Halsey not binding

In a landmark decision handed down today, the Court of Appeal has held that the court can order the parties to engage in ADR, or stay the proceedings to …

Commercial litigation podcast series – Episode 21: General update

Correspondence about possibility of ADR was not "without prejudice" despite being marked as such

Pre-action protocols: Civil Justice Council recommends mandatory pre-action ADR but will consider more flexible bespoke protocol for commercial cases

The Civil Justice Council (CJC) has issued a report recommending substantial changes to the regime of pre-action protocols (PAPs) which parties are …

UK government confirms plans for compulsory mediation in the County Court and decides against statutory regulation of the mediation sector

The UK government has announced that it is proceeding with plans to introduce compulsory mediation as a mandatory procedural step in all Small Claims in …