The claimant had begun proceedings for the return of money held by the respondent. His action was stayed for inactivity, and the respondent later had the claim struck out on the basis that it would be an abuse of process to proceed.
Held: The claim could still be tried without unfairness, and accordingly it should not have been struck out. The court applied Taylor rather than Grovit. Strinking out th claim would not best serve the interests of justice. The defendant had no title to the money, but the court made an order for costs of earlier parts of the action in favour of the respondent.
Judges:
Davies J
Citations:
Times 13-Feb-2003, Gazette 10-Apr-2003
Statutes:
Civil Procedure Rules 51.19(1)
Jurisdiction:
England and Wales
Citing:
Cited – Chief Constable of Northumbria v Costello CA 3-Dec-1998
A woman police officer was attacked by a prisoner in a cell. She sought damages for the failure of a senior officer nearby not to come to her aid, and from the chief constable under his vicarious liability.
Held: The chief constable’s appeal . .
Cited – Taylor v Anderson and Another CA 7-Nov-2002
The claimant sought to overturn an order striking out his claim for damages for personal injury, after inordinate delay in prosecuting his claim.
Held: It will be rare for a claim to be struck out for such a reason under the transitional . .
Cited – Grovit and others v Doctor and others HL 24-Apr-1997
The plaintiff began a defamation action against seven defendants. Each had admitted publication but pleaded justification. The claims against the fourth to seventh defendants were dismissed by consent, and the third had gone into liquidation. The . .
Cited by:
Appeal from – Fay v Chief Constable of Bedfordshire CA 10-Dec-2003
. .
Lists of cited by and citing cases may be incomplete.
Civil Procedure Rules, Police
Updated: 11 May 2022; Ref: scu.179121