Jurisdiction(s):
United Kingdom

Disputed litigation capacity under CPR 21: appointing litigation friends and avoiding preliminary hearings—Mohammed v Ali [2026] EWHC 401 (KB) (England and Wales)

Published on: 25 March 2026

Published by a LexisNexis PI & Clinical Negligence expert

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Article summary

Mohammed v Ali and another [2026] EWHC 401 (KB)

What are the practical implications of the case?

This judgment distils key rules for addressing contested assertions about a person’s ability to conduct litigation, with particular relevance to Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) claims. It consolidates earlier authorities which, as the judge at first instance observed, were ‘ad hoc’, with ‘significant differences’. The court delivers structured guidance for situations where one side contends there is a want of litigation capacity, yet that contention is challenged by another party, raised by the court itself, or undermined by conflicts within that party’s own evidence. Ought the court appoint a litigation friend on a precautionary footing, or instead fix a preliminary hearing to determine capacity as a discrete issue? The clear and succinct response is that, unless the opponent can show concrete prejudice, the question of litigation capacity is for the individual litigant and is not a live issue for inter partes dispute. Ordinarily, a litigation friend should be appointed on the basis of a single party’s material, provided the core criteria are satisfied, with any continuing controversy about capacity reserved to the trial. The court additionally offers direction on the appropriate procedural approach therein...

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