Posted Friday 14th February 2020
Parties should always be aware of the risks of failing to comply with Court orders and deadlines.
Over the course of litigation, there will be various Court-imposed deadlines the parties will need to meet, such as exchanging witness statements or attending case management hearings. While the failure to comply with certain steps gives rise to an automatic sanction (for example, failure to file witness statements can mean a party is prevented from relying on that witness’ evidence at trial), a general failure to engage in the proceedings can also have serious consequences.
In a recent case, we successfully applied for the opponent’s Defence to be struck out and were awarded our client’s costs of the proceedings owing to the failure of the opponent to comply with Court directions, engage in correspondence or to attend a case management conference.
It is not enough for a party to put in a claim or defence and then sit back and wait for trial. Compliance is needed throughout the process and the failure to do so leaves a party exposed to sanctions at the Court’s discretion. In our case, this discretion was exercised to impose the most serious of sanctions – strike out.
Complying with Court deadlines can seem like an unnecessary burden or expense but they are there for a reason and parties ignore them at their peril.
This article is for reference purposes only. It does not constitute legal advice and should not be relied upon as such. Specific legal advice about your specific circumstances should always be sought separately before taking or deciding not to take any action.
Joelson, the leading London law firm, has successfully advised the sellers of Pet Microchip Services Ltd (PMS) on its sale to Identi.
