High Court Hands Down Judgment Despite The Proceedings Having Settled Before Circulation Of The Draft Judgment

• Published date: 09 May 2022
• Subject Matter: Litigation, Mediation & Arbitration, Trials & Appeals & Compensation, Personal Injury
• Law Firm: Herbert Smith Freehills
• Author: Ms Anna Pertoldi, Maura McIntosh and Jan O'Neill

The High Court has held that it was within the court's power to hand down a reserved judgment where the proceedings had settled before the draft judgment was circulated. There was no need for the court to be satisfied that there were exceptional circumstances. The proper approach was to weigh the public interest for and against handing down judgment: Jabbar & another v Avviv Insurance Ltd & others [2022] EWHC 912 (QB).

Although the relevant judgment in this case related to applications during the course of proceedings, the same principles would apply to a reserved final judgment on the merits.

The decision shows that there may be a greater likelihood of the court handing down judgment after settlement in cases where it addresses novel points of law or serious accusations against one of the parties, such as malice or dishonesty.

Parties who engage in settlement negotiations while awaiting a reserved judgment should bear in mind that the court can still deliver a judgment if settlement is reached, even if it has not yet circulated a draft judgment. If settling parties are in agreement that judgment should not be delivered, it would be advisable to make this known; although such an agreement will not bind the court, it will be a relevant factor.

The court may also take into account whether the settlement agreement is conditional on the court agreeing not to hand down judgment. Here it was "of some significance" that the parties' consent order did not proceed on the basis that the judgment would not be handed down, and therefore publication of the judgment did not risk undermining the settlement. In a previous decision (considered here) the fact that the settlement was conditional, and therefore handing down judgment would be likely to lead to further litigation, was found to give a strong reason against publication.

Parties should also remember that they have a duty to inform the court immediately if "meaningful settlement discussions" take place after judgment has been reserved.

Background

The first claimant, Dr Jabbar, had a practice (through the second claimant company) providing medico-legal reports in road traffic personal injury claims. The defendants were insurance companies often involved in personal injury claims. The proceedings concerned claims of defamation, conspiracy to injure and other actions arising from certain emails regarding Dr Jabbar that the defendants had sent to personal injury solicitors in the context of correspondence pursuant to...