The judgment of Mrs Justice Whipple in The Chief Constable of Greater Manchester Police v. Andrea Brown[2018] EWHC 2046 (Admin) considers how the Court should apply the QoCS regime for claims which include heads of claim in addition to one for personal injury.

 

The Claimant, Andrea Brown, had brought a mixed claim against the police, which was partially successful but did not beat a Part 36 offer. His Honour Judge Luba QC ruled that the Claimant had the benefit of the QoCS regime and that the personal injury claim could not be “severed” from the other elements of her claim. The Defendant appealed.

 

In her judgment, Whipple J noted that “CPR 44.13 extends to any proceedings which “include” a claim for damages for personal injuries. I would see this as a broad gateway, through which any proceedings which include a claim for damages for PI will pass”, but, whilst she considered the definition of cases that could benefit from QoCS protection was broad, she noted that the Court also had a broad discretion under CPR 44.16(2) in respect of mixed claims and the “mechanism [under CPR 44.16(2)] is quite simply to leave it to the Court at the end of the case to decide whether, and if so to what extent, it is just to permit enforcement of a defendant's costs order”.

 

Whipple J added that she did not consider it necessary to “unpick” all the elements of the claim to consider their relation, although it appeared to her unlikely that the exception would be used in more standard mixed claims seeking damages for personal injury and damage to a vehicle.