LV= has again won in the Barry Cable case.
The insurer was previously successful when District Judge Campbell ruled that there had been an abuse in the process relating to a road traffic accident (RTA) claim that was eventually pleaded in excess of £2.2 million, or one that should not have been pursued as a low-value claim under the RTA protocol.
“So when I look at the totality of what has gone on I find that this was an abuse of the court process,” stated District Judge Campbell in the first instance. “It is one thing to use the portal procedure and seek a stay and then sit on a case for a year, do nothing and ask for a further stay and delay and delay.
“Those sorts of cases come before this court regularly with defendants arguing that they are an abuse, but I have never had an application before me where it is so obvious on the evidence that this was never a portal case and yet the claimant’s solicitors have decided to use that procedure when it did not apply to this case and when it bought them a further 12 months.”
The case was appealed by the claimant, who lost a second time.
His Honour Judge Graham Wood QC concluded: “The learned judge adopted the correct approach, and did not err in her discretion on the substantive issue. This appeal must fail.”
LV= was represented by Keoghs.
“This is a particularly pleasing result,” commented LV=GI director of third party technical claims Caroline Johnson. “The behaviours shown by the claimant’s solicitors in this case are seen all too often and hopefully this judgement will serve to discourage future abuse of the process.”
