BPC Hotels Ltd & Ors v Brooke North (A Firm) [2015] EWHC 27 (TCC) (16 January 2015)

BPC Hotels Ltd & Ors v Brooke North (A Firm) [2015] EWHC 27 (TCC) (16 January 2015)

The claimants' allegations of deliberate concealment and deliberate breach of duty are unsupported by any real evidence and amount to no more than fanciful speculation. There is no real prospect of establishing that the defendant deliberately concealed facts or committed a deliberate breach of duty so as to postpone...

Source-derived case information.

Citation
[2015] EWHC 27 (TCC)
Parties
Claimant: BPC Hotels Ltd; Claimant: Bala Perampalam Chandra; Claimant: Maria Perpetua Chandra; Defendant: Brooke North (a firm)
Jurisdiction
England and Wales
Judgment Date
16 January 2015
Procedural Posture
Summary Judgment Application / Application for Summary Judgment by Defendant on Limitation Grounds
Outcome
Summary judgment granted for the defendant; claim dismissed as statute-barred.
Legal Topics
Summary Judgment, Limitation Act 1980, Professional Negligence, Deliberate Concealment, Solicitor's Duties
Civil Procedure Professional Negligence Limitation Summary Judgment Limitation Act 1980 Deliberate Concealment Solicitor's Duties

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Parties

BPC Hotels Ltd

Claimant

Bala Perampalam Chandra

Claimant

Maria Perpetua Chandra

Claimant

Brooke North (a firm)

Defendant

Procedural Posture

Summary Judgment Application / Application for Summary Judgment by Defendant on Limitation Grounds

Legal Issues

  1. 1 Whether the claimants' professional negligence claims are statute-barred under the Limitation Act 1980
  2. 2 Whether there was deliberate concealment by the defendant sufficient to postpone limitation under section 32 of the Limitation Act 1980
  3. 3 Whether the claimants have a real prospect of establishing deliberate concealment or deliberate breach of duty

Ratio Decidendi

The claimants' allegations of deliberate concealment and deliberate breach of duty are unsupported by any real evidence and amount to no more than fanciful speculation. There is no real prospect of establishing that the defendant deliberately concealed facts or committed a deliberate breach of duty so as to postpone limitation under section 32 of the Limitation Act 1980. Accordingly, the claims are statute-barred and must be dismissed.

Court Disposition

Summary judgment granted for the defendant; claim dismissed as statute-barred.

Orders

  • The claimants' claims are dismissed in their entirety as statute-barred.
  • No further directions required for the new claims.