May 29, 2016
Very few people, with the exception perhaps of litigation lawyers enjoy litigation. The Court of Appeal recently issued a consultation because it is struggling to get through the backlog of cases. Is the answer more ADR earlier on in the process? For example, in small...
May 27, 2016
Zurich Insurance v Hayward will be heard on 16 June. The key question is whether a settlement can be reopened, and money recovered, by the insurer because subsequent evidence led it to realise that the claimant was fraudulent to a far greater extent than suspected at...
May 26, 2016
Yet another example of a case that should have mediated is that of Heaney v Kirkby, which concerned the ownership of a 32 metre grass verge. The epic legal battle over a strip of land ended in the Court of Appeal with Mr Heaney being left facing a bill estimated at...
May 26, 2016
A recent High Court case demonstrates the risk inherent in issuing proceedings without the intention of pursuing them, for tactical reasons. Quite apart from the increased cost of the Court issue fee, as soon as the claim form is issued the claimant may become liable...
May 26, 2016
A survey of legal needs in England and Wales has been carried out by the Law Society, which will be of interest to those providing legal services. http://www.lawsociety.org.uk/support-services/research-trends/largest-ever-legal-needs-survey-in-england-and-wales/ More...
May 25, 2016
Today I gave my maiden speech in the House of Commons! I attended an influential All Parliamentary Party Group of MPs including the shadow Justice Secretary, Christina Rees, and Alberto Costa QC. Issues involving consumer mediation and the ADR Directive were...
May 24, 2016
Time and again, parties end up in financial difficulties because they get involved with legal proceedings over a neighbour dispute, which the Courts have directed is the kind of dispute that benefits from mediation. The latest tale of litigation woe concerns a...
May 24, 2016
Peter Causton of ProMediate will be speaking to an influential group of MPs at the Palace of Westminster on 25 May about consumer ADR alongside Michel Kalipetis, commercial mediator. Peter will be explaining how the ADR Directive is not working very well in...
May 24, 2016
In its response to a consultation on setting up a new property Court, the Civil Justice Council has recommended more flexible deployment of judges in landlord and tenant, housing, property and land registration cases. The working group says that there are a number of...
May 23, 2016
Customers are increasingly turning to social media to post bad reviews about goods or services they have bought, causing damage to businesses’ reputations. We would caution against posting online before first exhausting the complaints process. That avenue may...
