Matthew And Others (Appellants) v Sedman And Others (Respondents) [2021] UKSC 19

• Published date: 05 August 2021
• Subject Matter: Finance and Banking, Litigation, Mediation & Arbitration, Financial Services, Trials & Appeals & Compensation
• Law Firm: Hill Dickinson
• Author: Mr Lewis Moore, Chris Primikiris and Charlotte Wood

In this case, the Supreme Court considered an appeal in relation to the calculation of a limitation period, in respect of causes of action which accrued at, or on the expiry of, the midnight hour at the end of Thursday 2 June 2011. The issue before the Supreme Court was whether Friday 3 June 2011 counted towards the calculation of the six-year limitation period.

Factual background

Matthew and others (the Appellants) are the trustees of a trust established under the 1948 will of Mrs Evelyn Hammond (the Trust). They replaced Sedman and others (the Respondents), who were the trustees until their retirement on 1 August 2014. The Trust had a shareholding in Cattles plc (Cattles). In 1994, Cattles acquired Welcome Financial Services Ltd (Welcome). In 2007, Cattles published an annual report and the Financial Services Authority subsequently found that information contained in the report was misleading. Trading in Cattles' shares was suspended as a result and, in December 2010, Welcome and Cattles each commenced proceedings for court-sanctioned schemes of arrangement (the Welcome Scheme and the Cattles Scheme). The court approved these schemes on 28 February 2011. The terms of each scheme included provision for claims to be submitted by shareholders. The Trust had a claim in both schemes.

The Respondents made a claim under the Cattles Scheme, but failed to do so under the Welcome Scheme. The Welcome Scheme rules provided that in order to be entitled to any scheme payment, scheme creditors had to submit a claim form on or prior to the bar date, which was Thursday 2 June 2011. Accordingly, the Respondents had until midnight on Thursday 2 June 2011 to issue a claim form. They did not do so.

On Monday 5 June 2017, the Appellants commenced proceedings against the Respondents, by a claim form issued on that date. The Appellants sought damages and/or equitable compensation and other remedies and relief in relation to the Respondents' failure to issue a claim form under the Welcome Scheme (the Welcome Claim). The Respondents, on 4 July 2017, issued an application for strike out/summary judgment in relation to the Welcome Claim on the basis that it had been issued out of time, and was consequently statute-barred pursuant to sections 2 and/or 5 and/or 21(3) of the Limitation Act 1980.

In a judgment handed down on 27 November 2017, the High Court granted the Respondents' application. The judge held that that if a cause of action arises during the course of a day, that day is...