The Singapore Convention, more formally known as the United Nations Convention on International Settlement Agreements Resulting from Mediation, was signed today in Singapore by 46 countries – a record number of first-day signatories for a UN trade convention. While not including the UK or any EU countries, the signatories do include the world’s two largest … Read more
The High Court has found that, where a claimant beat its own Part 36 offer by only a very small margin relative to the size of the claim, that was not a relevant factor in determining whether it would be unjust to award the claimant the Part 36 costs consequences in full: JLE v Warrington … Read more
The Court of Appeal has recently upheld a first instance decision that there was a binding agreement to vary a settlement agreement: Simantob v Shavleyan [2019] EWCA Civ 1105. The claimant argued that there was a lack of consideration for the variation, as the defence which the defendant had agreed not to pursue was without merit … Read more
The High Court has held that correspondence marked “without prejudice save as to costs” and which described the conduct of prior “without prejudice” (“WP”) negotiations (including a mediation and subsequent discussions) was admissible in an application for costs against the claimant’s lawyers: Willers v Joyce & Ors [2019] EWHC 937 (Ch). The court accepted that … Read more
In a recent decision, the Court of Appeal upheld the High Court’s refusal to allow the claimants to pursue claims in unlawful means conspiracy: Elite Property Holdings Ltd v Barclays Bank plc [2019] EWCA Civ 204. While this decision did not involve new law, it serves as a reminder of the difficulties of bringing a … Read more
The High Court has found that defendants who made a Part 36 offer, which the claimant failed to beat, should not be awarded any of their costs where the offer was withdrawn after trial and before judgment: Britned Development Ltd v ABB AB [2018] EWHC 3142 (Ch). Had the offer remained on the table until judgment, … Read more
The Court of Appeal has upheld a High Court decision that an offer to settle was not valid under CPR Part 36 as it related only to a claim put forward in draft amended particulars of claim: Hertel v Saunders [2018] EWCA Civ 1831. The decision suggests that an offer made in existing proceedings will not be a … Read more
This post discusses practical points arising from four recent decisions relating to Part 36 offers – though of course each case will turn on its facts and so the points outlined will not necessarily be of universal application. (1) A term as to costs which is (even slightly) inconsistent with the effect of Part 36 itself … Read more
