Mitchell: "misunderstood" and "misapplied"

In its latest judgment on the Jackson Reforms, the Court of Appeal has said that its earlier decision in Mitchell v News Group Newspapers Limited [2013] EWCA Civ 1526 has been “misunderstood” and “misapplied” and that this has led to some judges “adopting an unreasonable approach” to the rules on relief from sanctions. Therefore, it has “restated” the test to be applied to such applications.

In this article, we consider the restated test and comment on how this appears to be a fresh start.