The need for litigation to be conducted efficiently is a recurring theme and remains omnipresent in civil proceedings as the new year gets under way.

The so-called ‘Jackson Reforms’ introduced in April 2013 sought to tighten up the way in which litigation was being conducted. The hard-hitting reality of these reforms was seen through their application in the case of Mitchell v News Group Newspapers Ltd [2013] EWCA Civ 1537.

Many will recall that as a result of an administrative error by his solicitors, Mr Mitchell’s cost budget was not filed on time, and he was restricted to recovery of his court fees only, a shortfall of around £500,000.

While the Mitchell case highlighted the need to meet deadlines in a timely manner, it also put a spotlight on the requirement to make applications for relief from sanctions promptly.

The Civil Procedure Rules already set out the criteria that the courts take into account when considering an application for relief from sanctions, but this was developed significantly in the cases of Denton and others v TH White Ltd and another; Decadent Vapours Ltd v Bevan and others; and Utilise TDS Ltd v Davies and others [2014] EWCA Civ 906, which later followed and clarified Mitchell.

The Court of Appeal provided clear guidance in making such applications, setting out a three-stage approach which courts would consider when dealing with an application.

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One of the overwhelming themes drawn from the Jackson Reforms, and the Mitchell and Denton cases is that timing is everything. Deadlines must be met and applications must be made promptly.

The importance of timing to ensure that litigation can be conducted efficiently continues to be applied by judges in the county courts, as demonstrated in a recent case with which I dealt.

The case concerned an application for specific disclosure made by the opposing party. The party asserted that they required disclosure of further documents, which they believed existed after receipt of the expert’s report and his response to the parties’ questions.

This was denied by my client, which said that it had fulfilled its disclosure obligations at the disclosure stage and throughout the ongoing proceedings.

The application was made three weeks after we had all been served with the expert’s responses to the parties’ questions and less than a week before trial.

The hearing of the application took place the day before the start of the two-day trial and, if it had been successful, it undoubtedly would have resulted in the trial being adjourned.

At the hearing of the application, the judge made it clear that the application had been made far too late. The application was dismissed and we obtained a costs order against the applicant.

The reforms and the widely publicised cases which followed have highlighted the need to adhere to deadlines and, in the absence of adherence, to make applications for relief from sanctions promptly.

These principles of adherence to court timetables and promptness when at risk of or in actual default are not just relevant to directions (or missed directions) but all aspects of case management in civil proceeding – time is of the essence. <

Katherine Clark is a solicitor at Weightmans