FLK1 · SQE1 module

Dispute Resolution

Dispute Resolution tests civil litigation mechanics: pre-action conduct, statements of case, disclosure, and the court’s active case management under the Civil Procedure Rules.

A recurring pattern asks what happens when a party unreasonably refuses to engage with alternative dispute resolution, since this feeds directly into costs consequences.

What this module covers

Every topic in Dispute Resolution, in the order the course teaches them. This is the whole syllabus for the module, not a selection.

Methods of Dispute Resolution: Litigation and ADR
Pre-Action Considerations: Limitation
Pre-Action Protocols and Pre-Action Applications
Starting Proceedings: Choice of Court and Jurisdiction
Issuing Proceedings: The Claim Form and Part 8 Claims
Service of Proceedings
Responding to a Claim
Statements of Case
Part 20 Claims: Counterclaims, Third-Party Claims, Contribution and Indemnity
Case Management and Track Allocation
Interim Applications
Disclosure and Inspection
Witness Evidence, Hearsay and Other Evidential Issues
Expert Evidence
Trial, Settlement and Tomlin Orders
Costs
Part 36 Offers to Settle
Enforcement of Money Judgments
Appeals

A real question from this module

Answer it before you decide

FLK1 · Dispute Resolution

Question

A claimant proposes mediation early in proceedings. The defendant declines, believing the claim to be hopeless and wanting a quick summary judgment instead, but does not otherwise explain the refusal to the claimant or the court. The defendant wins at trial. In deciding whether to depart from the general rule that costs follow the event, which of the following will the court consider?

AWhether the defendant’s belief that the claim was hopeless was objectively reasonable on the facts known at the time

BWhether the claimant would have accepted a lower settlement figure, had mediation gone ahead as proposed at the time

CWhether the defendant’s own solicitors had personally recommended mediation before the refusal took place at all

DWhether the trial judge personally considers mediation a more efficient process than litigation in general

EWhether the claimant issued proceedings before or after first proposing mediation to the defendant informally

Answer A

Whether an outright refusal to engage in mediation was unreasonable is assessed against the circumstances known at the time of the refusal, including whether the refusing party’s belief in the strength of its case was objectively reasonable, not simply genuinely held. A party’s own solicitors’ recommendations, a judge’s personal enthusiasm for mediation, and the sequence in which proceedings were issued are not, on their own, the test the court applies to the refusal itself.

Halsey v Milton Keynes General NHS Trust [2004] EWCA Civ 576, CPR r.44.2.

Pick another option to compare, or try five more free questions.

Related modules

Start free All 13 modules