The appellant sought leave to appeal out of time against an order dismissing his action against the solicitors who had acted for his former spouse in matrimonial proceedings.
Held: Leave was refused.
A solicitor owes his duty to his own client, not to the opponent. The action and the appeal were totally without merit. The claimant sought also to appeal against his undertaking given to avoid a civil restraint order. The rules now required the court in any event to consider such an order where it found an application to be totally without merit. In the circumstances the applicant had not broken the undertaking given, and no restraint order was made.
Judges:
Lloyd LJ
Citations:
[2005] EWCA Civ 1104
Links:
Statutes:
Access to Justice Act 1999 55, Civil Procedure Rules 52.10(5)
Jurisdiction:
England and Wales
Family, Civil Procedure Rules, Legal Professions
Updated: 03 July 2022; Ref: scu.229865
