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The Court of Appeal has today ruled on an important point of civil procedure, finding that when the court issues a claim form by sealing it, it must enter the date of actual issue and not some other date. In Walton v Pickerings Solicitors [2023] EWCA Civ 602, the unfortunate facts were that the court office lost a claim form filed shortly before the end of the limitation period. In attempting to resolve the matter, the court office required the claimant to produce a new claim form which was finally sealed issued almost five months after the claim had been filed. However, the seal was backdated to the date the claim was filed, meaning that the four month period for the valid service of the claim form (CPR 7.5) had expired by the time it was in the claimant's possession.
The claimant's application to extend the time for service of the claim form was refused by a Deputy Master, and on appeal by the High Court. However, on a second appeal to the Court of Appeal, these decisions were reversed. Nugee LJ (with whom Asplin and Falk LJJ agreed) found that the court had no power to seal a claim form with a date other than the date on which the claim form is in fact sealed. As a result, the claim was validly served within four months of its issue.
The judgment is available here.
Richard Turney acted for the successful appellant in the Court of Appeal.
