Credico Marketing Limited & Anor. v Benjamin Gregory Lambert & Anor.
[2023] EWCA Civ 262
Entertainment Aps Limited v Yash Patel & Ors
10 October 2023
[2023] EWHC 2498 (TCC)
High Court
A company sued a family for not giving them a website they paid to have built. The court said most of the lawsuit could continue, and kept a court order stopping the family from using the website.
Key Facts
- •Entertainment Apps Limited (Claimant) sued Yash Patel, Tej Patel, Kwantyele Limited, Proptyle Limited, Proptyle Private Limited, Arvind Pannalal Patel, and Sarala Arvind Patel (Defendants) for breach of contract and intellectual property rights.
- •The dispute centers around a property marketing website, proptyle.co.uk, and its development.
- •The Claimant alleges the Defendants, who are family members, wrongfully withheld the website before its commercial launch.
- •Three contracts are central to the case: an assignment agreement, a consultancy agreement, and side letters.
- •The Defendants applied to strike out the Claimant's amended particulars of claim (APOC) or for summary judgment.
- •An interim injunction had previously been granted preventing the Defendants from using the website or disclosing confidential information.
Legal Principles
Power to strike out a statement of case (CPR 3.4(2)) and enter summary judgment (CPR 24.2).
CPR 3.4(2), CPR 24.2
A claim of substance has a real prospect of succeeding at trial.
Easyair Ltd v Opal Telecom Ltd [2009] EWHC 229 (Ch)
Statement of case must meet requirements of Civil Procedural Rules, Practice Directions, and TCC Guide.
25 November 2022 order, TCC Guide
Pleadings must enable the opponent to know the case it has to meet, facilitate fair and efficient progress to trial, and act as a reality check.
King v Steifel [2021] EWHC 1045 (Comm)
Pleadings should be helpful to both parties and the court.
Hague Plant v Hague [2014] EWCA Civ 1609
Requirements for a valid claim under the Copyright, Designs and Patent Act 1988.
Nekoti v Univilla Ltd [2016] EWHC 556 (Ch)
Requirements for a claim for breach of a services contract.
Requirements for a contractual claim, including a concise statement of facts.
Building Design Partnership v Standard Life [2021] EWCA Civ 1793
Court has wide powers to strike out immaterial matter confusing the resolution of properly pleaded claims.
Charter UK Ltd v Nationwide Building Society [2009] EWHC 1002
Injunctions should not require performance of personal services or court supervision.
When the basis for an injunction no longer exists, the claimant must obtain consent for its continuation or revert to court.
Speedier Logistics v Aardvark Digital [2012] EWHC 2776 (Comm)
Outcomes
Application to strike out or for summary judgment against the APOC dismissed.
The APOC provides a clear fact-based set of allegations with a real prospect of success, meeting the basic requirements and being fit for purpose.
Certain paragraphs of the APOC struck out.
These paragraphs contained irrelevant, immaterial, or poorly pleaded allegations.
Application to discharge the interim injunction dismissed.
The substance of the APOC remains the same as the case that supported the injunction, focusing on the Defendants acting contrary to the Claimant's rights under the contracts.