The plaintiff owner of a property had commenced proceedings to recover the property from the defendant tenants. The plaintiff then applied to have a particular provision of the 1968 Act interpreted as a preliminary issue of law under O 33 r 2.
Held: The House considered the risks of split trials. Lord Scarman said: ‘preliminary points of law are too often treacherous shortcuts. Their price can be, as here, delay, anxiety, and expense.’
Lord Wilberforce said that the Judicial Committee had: ‘often protested against the practice of allowing preliminary points to be taken, since this course frequently adds to the difficulties of courts of appeal and tends to increase the cost and time of legal proceedings. If this practice cannot be confined to cases where the facts are complicated and the legal issue short and easily decided, cases outside this guiding principle should at least be exceptional.’
Lord Scarman observed that ‘Preliminary points of law are too often treacherous short cuts. Their price can be, as here, delay, anxiety, and expense’
Judges:
Lord Wilberforce, Lord Diplock, Lord Salmon, Lord Fraser of Tullybelton, Lord Scarman
Citations:
[1979] UKHL 10, [1980] AC 1, (1979) 250 EG 51, (1979) 38 P and CR 341, [1979] 2 WLR 401, [1979] 1 All ER 737
Links:
Statutes:
Jurisdiction:
England and Wales
Cited by:
Cited – Gerrard and Another v Eurasian Natural Resources Corporation Ltd and Another QBD 27-Nov-2020
The claimants, a solicitor and his wife, sought damages in harassment and data protection, against a party to proceedings in which he was acting professionally, and against the investigative firm instructed by them. The defendants now requested the . .
Lists of cited by and citing cases may be incomplete.
Housing, Litigation Practice
Updated: 26 May 2022; Ref: scu.522151