Kwasi Date-Bah & Anor v Rachel Radice
[2023] UKUT 289 (LC)
EB Pension Fund & Ors v Nicholas Froggatt
27 June 2024
[2024] EWHC 2721 (Ch)
High Court
A tenant appealed a judge's refusal to postpone a court hearing because the court's own mistake meant the tenant couldn't get a lawyer. The higher court agreed that this was unfair, overturned the decision, and ordered a new hearing with a different judge.
Key Facts
- •Appeal against Recorder Aldous KC's refusal to adjourn a hearing in the County Court at Willesden.
- •Dispute between landlord/occupier (Appellants) and tenant (Respondent) concerning alleged lease breaches and wrongdoing.
- •Appellant Ms Muorah, initially acting without representation, faced difficulties due to court's failure to process her application to remove her solicitors from the record.
- •The appeal focuses on whether the Recorder should have adjourned the hearing to allow Ms Muorah to obtain legal representation.
- •Permission to appeal was granted on this specific ground by Bacon J.
Legal Principles
The overriding objective of the court is to act justly and proportionately.
CPR Rule 3.1(2)(b)
The guiding principle in adjournment applications is whether the trial proceeding would be fair in all circumstances; this is fact-sensitive, not a mechanistic application of checklists.
Bilta (UK) Ltd (In Liquidation) v Tradition Financial Services Ltd [2021] EWCA Civ 221 at [30]
An appeal court will not lightly interfere with case management decisions, but will intervene if the decision to refuse an adjournment caused injustice or unfairness.
Bilta (UK) Ltd (In Liquidation) v Tradition Financial Services Ltd [2021] EWCA Civ 221 at [49]
Trial judges must give adequate reasons for their decisions; reasons are necessary for appeal, ensuring justice is seen to be done and setting precedents.
English v Emery Reimbold & Strick Ltd [2002] EWCA Civ 605
In considering adjournments, courts should give adequate weight to the prejudice a litigant in person might face if forced to proceed without representation, especially where the situation is not their fault.
Bowden v Homerton University Hospital NHS Foundation Trust [2012] EWCA Civ 245
Outcomes
Appeal allowed.
The Recorder's refusal to adjourn was unjust due to the court's administrative error preventing Ms Muorah from obtaining representation, coupled with the lack of reasons given for the refusal. The court failed to adequately consider the significant prejudice caused to Ms Muorah by its own error.
Recorder's decision quashed.
The matter is to be reheard in the County Court before a full-time judge to avoid further jurisdictional issues.
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