Claudio de Giovanni v Cormac Kehoe & Ors

Claudio de Giovanni v Cormac Kehoe & Ors

Default judgment in the County Court claim was set aside due to invalid service and lack of evidence of last known address; the County Court claim was struck out as an abuse of process for duplicative and improper proceedings; the High Court claim was not dismissed under CPR 7.7 but the court had no jurisdiction as the claim form was not validly served within the required period, and no good reason existed for retrospective validation or extension.

Parties
Claimant: Claudio De Giovanni; Defendant: Cormac Kehoe; Defendant: Joshi Herrmann; Defendant: The Millers Publishing Company Limited
Jurisdiction
England and Wales
Judgment Date
13 May 2026
Procedural Posture
Civil Defamation / Judgment on Applications to Set Aside Default Judgment, Strike Out Claim, Dismiss for Non Compliance, and Jurisdictional Challenge
Outcome
County Court claim: Default judgment set aside and claim struck out as abuse of process. High Court claim: Defendants granted extension of time, relief from sanctions, declaration of no jurisdiction, and claim form set aside; application to dismiss for CPR 7.7 non-compliance refused.
Legal Topics
Default Judgment, Abuse of Process, Jurisdiction, Service of Process, Relief From Sanctions
Civil Procedure Defamation Default Judgment Abuse of Process Jurisdiction Service of Process Relief From Sanctions

Case Brief

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Parties

Claudio De Giovanni

Claimant

Cormac Kehoe

Defendant

Joshi Herrmann

Defendant

The Millers Publishing Company Limited

Defendant

Procedural Posture

Civil Defamation / Judgment on Applications to Set Aside Default Judgment, Strike Out Claim, Dismiss for Non Compliance, and Jurisdictional Challenge

Legal Issues

  1. 1 Whether default judgment in the County Court claim should be set aside
  2. 2 Whether the County Court claim should be struck out as an abuse of process
  3. 3 Whether the High Court claim should be dismissed for failure to comply with CPR 7.7 notice

Ratio Decidendi

Default judgment in the County Court claim was set aside due to invalid service and lack of evidence of last known address; the County Court claim was struck out as an abuse of process for duplicative and improper proceedings; the High Court claim was not dismissed under CPR 7.7 but the court had no jurisdiction as the claim form was not validly served within the required period, and no good reason existed for retrospective validation or extension.

Court Disposition

County Court claim: Default judgment set aside and claim struck out as abuse of process. High Court claim: Defendants granted extension of time, relief from sanctions, declaration of no jurisdiction, and claim form set aside; application to dismiss for CPR 7.7 non-compliance refused.

Orders

  • Default judgment in County Court claim set aside
  • County Court claim struck out as abuse of process