Precedent-setting litigation in the Court of Appeal

The importance of our precedent-setting work in the matter of McKeown -v- Langer [2021] EWCA Civ 1792, a Court of Appeal Judgment handed down in our client’s favour in November 2021, has been recognised by its inclusion in The White Book 2022 guidance on Civil Procedure, the leading authority for English Court litigators. The Judgment is variously referenced in the text’s legal guidance on rules 36.2, 36.16 and 44.2 of the Civil Procedure Rules 1998. As the respondent’s lawyers in this highly significant costs appeal, we are particularly proud to note the detailed reference to our submissions in the guidance on rule 36.16, which includes key policy considerations outlined by the Court of Appeal in the Judgment along with the following commentary:

“In McKeown, the Court of Appeal held (obiter)…that there was “very considerable force” in the submission that the court should exceptionally have made an immediate costs order in favour of the respondent notwithstanding the making of a global settlement offer under Pt 36 given the offers that were before the court, the parties’ conduct, the “wholesale failure” of the appellant on the merits, and the respondent’s relative impecuniosity.”

The appellant’s “wholesale failure” on the merits refers to the previous High Court Judgment which we succeeded in obtaining for our client in December 2020 (see: https://www.russells.co.uk/sophisticats-shareholders-in-the-high-court/).

The respondent instructed Elizabeth Scandrett, one of our Senior Associates. The supervising partner was John Reid. Counsel was Anna Lintner of 39 Essex Chambers.

The full Court of Appeal Judgment is available here: https://www.bailii.org/ew/cases/EWCA/Civ/2021/1792.html