The claimant had had judgment in his personal injury claim entered in default of a defence. The defendant applied to set it aside as prima facie defeated by limitation. His application was rejected on the basis that since had had admitted the offence alleged, the limitation period would be extended allowing the claim to succeed.
Held: The defendant’s appeal succeeded. There was no particular requirement as to when a limitation defence might be raised and considered. The prima facie existence of a section 33 defence would not always be determinative in setting aside a default judgment. The onus lay on the claimant to establish that it would be equitable under section 33 to set aside the limit set by section 11. That onus might be heavy, requiring particular justification for why the claim was brought out of time.
Judges:
Julian Knowles J
Citations:
[2018] EWHC 1765 (QB), [2018] WLR(D) 433
Links:
Statutes:
Civil Procedure Ruls 13.3, Limitation Act 1980
Jurisdiction:
England and Wales
Limitation, Litigation Practice
Updated: 25 April 2022; Ref: scu.620090