Jurisdiction(s):
United Kingdom

England and Wales: Time-barred dishonest assistance claim against non-party witness—s 32 Limitation Act 1980 inapplicable where claim could be pleaded during earlier fraud proceedings (Goldtrail v Grumbridge)

Published on: 29 June 2021

Published by a LexisNexis Restructuring & Insolvency expert

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Article summary

Paul Lowenstein QC-Twenty Essex Josephine Davies-Twenty Essex

On 24 June 2021, Mr Justice Adam Johnson dismissed an appeal from the Chief Master in the Chancery Division, delivering a considered judgment that declined to apply section 32 of the Limitation Act 1980 (LA 1980) to extend time sufficiently for the claim form to have been issued before expiry. He held that, at the point of an earlier fraud action started years before, the claimant already knew enough facts to plead a case against the defendant. The court decided that uncovering a small number of extra documents later did not alter the reality that the claim could have been brought sooner. The appeal ruling is a striking illustration of the court cutting through dense factual material to pinpoint the few salient matters needed to determine when, with reasonable diligence, the claimant could have satisfied the ‘statement of claim’ test. The judgment offers clear guidance that a claimant seeking to invoke LA 1980, s 32 should, at an early stage, set out plainly the facts it did know at the relevant time...

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