Late amendment permitted in cladding case

In Martlet Homes Ltd v Mulalley & Co Ltd [2021] EWHC 296 (TCC) Pepperall J held that the defendant was entitled to strike out paragraphs in the claimant’s reply on the ground that they were an attempt to advance a new claim out of time. However, Pepperall J also decided that the claimant was entitled to amend its claim out of time under r17.4 of the Civil Procedure Rules to include the new claim which it wished to advance. While the amendment represented a new cause of action, it arose from substantially the same facts as those which had been put in issue by the defendant and, on this basis, Pepperall J exercised his discretion to permit the amendment to be made.