The defendant sought a stay of a civil action against them, saying that the claimant’s own action in pursuing criminal proceedings deprived it of access to former employees who might provide evidence to allow them to defend the claim.
Held: It was not an abuse of process or an infringement of the defendant’s right to a fair trial to allow the case to proceed. The fact that it was the clainmant’s own action in taking the prosecution did not sufficiently distinguish this case from others. Witness co-operation is an inherent risk in all litigation. Each such case had to be considered on its own merits.
Judges:
Lloyd J
Citations:
Times 26-Aug-2003, [2003] EWHC 1905 (Ch)
Jurisdiction:
England and Wales
Cited by:
Cited – Mote v Secretary of State for Work and Pensions and Another CA 14-Dec-2007
The appellant was accused of having received income benefits to which he was not entitled. A prosecution was commenced and at the same time he appealed to the tribunal against the decision that there had been an overpayment. The authorities . .
Lists of cited by and citing cases may be incomplete.
Litigation Practice
Updated: 27 March 2022; Ref: scu.186092