The claimant said that whilst he was a passenger on a flight, he ingested broken glass in a drink. The trial of his case took place in his absence and he successfully set aside judgment against him in default when he failed to appear. The defendant now sought to re-instate the default judgment.
Held: The judge did not have a sufficient evidential basis for concluding that the claimant had voluntarily not attended. There had been evidence before the court to suggest a medical condition justifying his absence. The case was remitted for retrial before a different judge.
Judges:
Lord Bingham of Cornhill, Judge LJ, Robert Walker LJ
Citations:
[1998] EWCA Civ 146
Jurisdiction:
England and Wales
Citing:
Cited – Shocked and Another v Goldschmidt and Another CA 4-Nov-1994
A party’s failure to appear at the trial implied that he had made certain choices which he was not to be allowed to go back on when seeking to set aside any judgment made. . .
Lists of cited by and citing cases may be incomplete.
Personal Injury, Litigation Practice
Updated: 14 November 2022; Ref: scu.143624