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England and Wales Court of Appeal (Civil Division) Decisions |
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You are here: BAILII >> Databases >> England and Wales Court of Appeal (Civil Division) Decisions >> Gold v Mincoff Science & Gold (A Firm) [2002] EWCA Civ 1157 (19 July 2002) URL: http://www.bailii.org/ew/cases/EWCA/Civ/2002/1157.html Cite as: [2002] EWCA Civ 1157 |
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IN THE COURT OF APPEAL (CIVIL DIVISION)
ON APPEAL FROM THE CHANCERY DIVISION
(Mr Justice Neuberger)
Strand London WC2 Friday, 19th July 2002 |
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B e f o r e :
LADY JUSTICE ARDEN
MR JUSTICE BUCKLEY
____________________
ALAN CLIVE GOLD | ||
Claimant/Respondent | ||
- v - | ||
MINCOFF SCIENCE & GOLD (a firm) | ||
Defendant/Appellant |
____________________
Smith Bernal Reporting Limited, 190 Fleet Street,
London EC4A 2AG
Tel: 0171 421 4040
Official Shorthand Writers to the Court)
appeared on behalf of the Appellant.
MR LEOLIN PRICE QC and MR DAVID AINGER (Instructed by Narj Gilbert Morse, 53 Grey Street, Newcastle on Tyne, NE1 6EE)
appeared on behalf of the Respondent.
____________________
Crown Copyright ©
Friday, 19th July 2002
Background
The amendment ruling
(i)to assert reliance on section 14A of the Limitation Act 1980;
(ii)to assert reliance on section 32 of the Limitation Act 1980;
(iii)to assert a separate cause of action in regard to the failure to advise Mr Gold that he arguably had a cause of action in relation to MSG's failure to advise on the liability clause in the earlier mortgages. He said that that should have occurred in 1993.
"So far, if anyone has been giving ... and I say nothing about this ... any consideration to what commercially might be done about this litigation in the round, that will have been done on the basis of the existing pleadings rather than the basis of the new pleadings. It may be that your Lordship will take the view that this is merely a matter which can be sorted out in relation to costs after the event ... [However] it does not follow in any particular case that the court can ever be sure that it knows everything that will have happened. Again, I am being very careful to say nothing about this case."
"One expects that there might have been negotiations, the nature of which it is extremely difficult to think about ... and I should not be thinking about any way ... but I take the point that everybody has been proceeding not merely on the stage but behind the scenes on the basis of the claimant's case as pleaded."
"The overriding objective is that the court should deal with cases justly. That includes, so far as practicable, ensuring that each case is dealt with not only expeditiously but also fairly. Amendments in general ought to be allowed so that the real dispute between the parties can be adjudicated upon provided that any prejudice to the other party or parties caused by the amendment can be compensated for in costs, and the public interest in the efficient administration of justice is not significantly harmed."
"But, in addition, in previous eras it was more readily assumed that if the amending party paid his opponent the costs of an adjournment that was sufficient compensation to that opponent. In the modern era it is more readily recognised that in truth the payment of the costs of an adjournment may well not adequately compensate someone who is desirous of being rid of a piece of litigation which has been hanging over his head for some time, and may not adequately compensate him for being totally (and we are afraid there are no better words for it) `mucked around' at the last moment. Furthermore, the courts are now much more conscious that in assessing the justice of a particular case the disruption caused to other litigants by last minute adjournments and last minute applications have also to be brought into the scales."
"We accept that at the end of the day a balance has to be struck. The court is concerned with doing justice, but justice to all litigants, and thus where a last minute amendment is sought with the consequences indicated, the onus will be a heavy one on the amending party to show the strength of the new case and why justice both to him, his opponent and other litigants, requires him to be able to pursue it."
"Whether an amendment should be granted is a matter for the discretion of the trial judge and he should be guided in the exercise of the discretion by his assessment of where justice lies. Many and diverse factors will bear upon the exercise of this discretion. I do not think it is possible to enumerate them all or wise to attempt to do so. But justice cannot always be measured in terms of money and in my view a judge is entitled to weigh in the balance the strain the litigation imposes on litigants, particularly if they are personal litigants rather than business corporations, the anxieties occasioned by facing new issues, the raising of false hopes, and the legitimate expectation that the trial will determine the issues one way or the other. Furthermore to allow an amendment before a trial begins is quite different from allowing it at the end of the trial to give an apparently unsuccessful defendant an opportunity to renew the fight on an entirely different defence."
"Skilled mediators are now able to achieve results satisfactory to both parties in many cases which are quite beyond the powers of lawyers and courts to achieve. This court has knowledge of cases where intense feelings have arisen, for instance in relation to negligence claims. But when the parties are brought together on neutral soil with a skilled mediator to help them resolve their differences, it may very well be that the mediator is able to achieve a result by which the parties shake hands at the end and feel that they have gone away having settled the dispute on terms with which they are happy to live. A mediator may be able to provide solutions which are beyond the powers of the court to provide."
The paragraph 104 point
The partnership share