Clarion Housing Ltd v Crest Nicholson Operations Ltd
Citation: [2023] EWHC 620 (TCC)
Tom Owen appeared for the Claimant in successfully resisting the Defendant’s Part 11 jurisdictional challenge. The Court accepted the Claimant’s submissions on every ground. This was “satellite litigation in its purest form”.
The Defendant said the Claimant had failed to serve the proceedings validly and in time. The Court rejected that submission. Moreover, the Defendant had filed its AOS late and required relief from sanctions. The Claimant successfully resisted the relief sought, to preclude the Part 11 challenge.
The Court went on to consider obiter and reject the Part 11 challenge. After exchange of skeletons, the Defendant abandoned its primary ground. The Court rejected the three remaining grounds. It considered the Court of Appeal decisions in Grant v Dawn Meats (Coulson LJ) and Arkin v Marshall (Vos C) as to the legal effect of a stay on taking the relevant step to serve proceedings. The Court accepted that the stay does not nullify the relevant step taken to serve originating process.
The Defendant has sought permission to appeal from the Court of Appeal.
A copy of the judgment is available here.
