I was pleased to note that in the recent case of Groarke v Fontaine the High Court has shown some common sense with regard to time limits and the need to show some flexibility in the interests of fairness, balance and the proper administration of justice.
An appeal has been allowed against a refusal of a District Judge to allow an amendment. The reason for the original decision appears to have been to punish one of the parties for earlier breaches of orders and directions for which no sanctions were imposed.
Quite correctly in my view the High Court Judge adopted a more balanced stance. It hopefully represents what will be a continuing trend to undermine the hard line decision in Mitchell v News Group Newspapers which attempts to ensure that any failure to comply with prescribed time limits results in Armageddon for the relevant party.
Ignoring the irony of the Court imposing this level of sanction on the parties at a time when the administration of the system appears to have fallen into chaos it also fails to acknowledge that this profit generating “service” should be receptive to the wishes of the parties and to allow sufficient flexibility to ensure that a fair and just outcome is of paramount concern.
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