Jurisdiction(s):
United Kingdom

Substituting the correct defendant post-limitation: EWHC permits relation-back under LA 1980 s35(6)(b)—negligence claim unchanged despite mistaken successor liability (Office Properties v Adcamp)

Published on: 06 March 2025

Published by a LexisNexis Restructuring & Insolvency expert

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Article summary

Office Properties PL Ltd (in liquidation) and others v Adcamp LLP and another [2025] EWHC 170 (Ch)

What are the practical implications of this case?

This decision underscores how broad the court’s discretion is to allow amendments after limitation has run. That discretion was exercised in the claimants’ favour, even though (1) the slip was their own; and (2) had permission been refused, the claimants might have possessed a strong claim against their legal advisers stemming from the mistake. The court’s stance offers comfort to litigators when liability issues are intricate: such as where ‘an assignment was overlooked, or where the effect of a corporate merger on the whereabouts of a claim was not appreciated, resulting in the joinder of the wrong (sometimes non-existent)’ party. The operative approach was to grant the amendment unless there existed a sound reason to withhold it, on the facts of the case. The decision therefore reassures practitioners that, in this kind of scenario, the position may yet be retrievable. In appropriate circumstances.

What was the background?

The claimants brought a professional negligence claim against BDB Pitmans LLP (BDB), assuming that firm to be the successor to their former solicitors,...

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