A wonderful judgment this summer on a Covid BI claim, not so much on the legals but more on the commentary that came with it. Before diving in, a quick explainer on judicial language and how criticism works at the High Court. The euphemisms are legion. ‘Novel’, as in legal argument or strategy, is best interpreted as hopeless; ‘unexpected’, as in evidence, generally means made up; and the Everest of all euphemisms, ‘surprising’ would be expressed down the Dog & Duck with the use of a one-syllable, four-letter expletive. Followed by off.
In this context the Judge overseeing a trial of preliminary issues in the Bath Racecourse v Liberty Mutual dispute could barely have been more blunt when he started his judgment lamenting “… a yet further trial of preliminary issues concerning cover for [Covid] business interruption…”, following it up with “…it feels as if there has been a never-ending procession of such issues coming before the English Courts; testament, no doubt, to the extent of the losses suffered, but perhaps also to the ingenuity of lawyers (on both sides).”
Ouch. And did any of this serve any purpose? “It is questionable whether this process of identifying and resolving further preliminary issues has really hastened final resolution of the claim. [It]….left me wondering whether my answer on a particular issue would really make any material difference to the outcome in the long run.”
While the judge was kind enough to thank the legal teams, Stewarts Law for the claimant and DAC Beachcroft for the defendants, for their efforts, the criticism still stands and could equally apply to any number of claims at the High Court.
Litigation is taking too long, costing too much and not serving justice. Time for the courts to act.
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