The defendant to the defamation claim sought security for costs. There had been allegations of dishonesty on either side.
Held: The court should not, upon such an application, enter into the merits of the case in any detail, save in the exceptional case where one party or the other can demonstrate a high degree of probability of success. It would be impractical to enforce an award of costs in favour of a successful defendant agaist a claimant resident in the Sudan. This was not to act with a lack of comity toward that court, but to acknowledge that the two systems had different policies. ‘this is overwhelmingly a case for an order for security. I bear in mind proportionality, but I also need to have very much in focus the evidence of the enormous expenditure which the Defendants have already had to incur in investigating the situation in Sudan because of the way the case has been framed against them. ‘
Judges:
Eady J
Citations:
[2005] EWHC 1688 (QB)
Links:
Jurisdiction:
England and Wales
Citing:
Cited – Keary Developments v Tarmac Constructions CA 1995
The court set out the principles to be applied by the court upon an application for security for costs.
1. The court has a complete discretion whether to order security, and accordingly it will act in the light of all the relevant . .
Cited – Mealey Horgan Plc v Horgan QBD 6-Jul-1999
The failure to serve witness statements in time could be used disallow additional evidence to be served only in extreme circumstances. Such a failure can be marked in costs. An order to a party to make a payment into court should be used only in the . .
Cited – Nasser v United Bank of Kuwait CA 21-Dec-2001
The claimant appealed against a decision to strike out her claim for want of prosecution, and a failure to pay a sum ordered as security for costs. She had put jewelry with the defendants for safe keeping, and alleged it had been stolen. The lock on . .
Cited – Texuna International Ltd v Cairn Energy Plc ComC 17-May-2004
Where the court concludes that it may be effectively impossible to enforce an order for payment of costs, then this situation would provide ‘an objective justification for the court exercising its discretion to make an order for payment of the full . .
Cited – Olakunle O Olatawura v Alexander O Abiloye CA 17-Jul-2002
The claimant challenged an order requiring him to give security for costs before proceeding. The judge had felt he was unreasonable in the way he was pursuing his claim. He appealed saying the order was made outside the scope of Part 25.
Held: . .
Cited – Brimko Holdings Limited v Eastman Kodak Company 2004
The defendant sought security for costs. The court considered the burden of proof in such a claim: ‘. . the court should not restrict its evaluation of the ability of a claimant to provide security to the means of the claimant itself. If the . .
Cited – King v Telegraph Group Ltd CA 18-May-2004
The defendant appealed against interim costs orders made in the claim against it for defamation.
Held: The general power of cost capping measures available to courts were available also in defamation proceedings. The claimant was being . .
Cited by:
Cited – Prince Radu of Hohenzollern v Houston and Another QBD 7-Mar-2006
The claimant resided in Romania, and sought damages for libel. The magazine had obtained an order for security for costs. An offer had been made to cover the sum ordered, and no stifling could now happen.
Held: Any order for security costs in . .
Appeal from – Al-Koronky and Another v Time-Life Entertainment Group Ltd and Another CA 28-Jul-2006
The claimants sought damages after publication of articles alleging severe mistreatment of a servant. One defendant had settled and apologised, but the defendant publisher and author had persisted with the allegation. The claimants who lived in . .
Lists of cited by and citing cases may be incomplete.
Defamation, Costs
Updated: 22 September 2022; Ref: scu.229280