STANDARD LIFE ASSURANCE LTD v GLEEDS (UK) (A FIRM) AND OTHERS

[2021] EWHC 2081 (TCC), Technology and Construction Court, Fraser J, 27 July 2021

Amendment of particulars of claim – Whether permission should be granted – Importance of constructive engagement of the parties in litigation

The claimant brought proceedings in which it sought permission to amend its particulars of claim. The claim was a “factually complex one” and it arose out of the construction of a mixed-use retail and residential development in Newbury. The claim was brought against a number of defendants. The present application concerned what was known as Part B of the claim, which was a claim for some £38.1 million against the fourth, fifth and sixth defendants. The claimant’s application to amend its particulars of claim was resisted by these defendants on the ground that the claimant had failed to plead a case against them supporting any award of damages in respect of all but £12.9 million of the £38.1 million claimed. Fraser J declined to give the claimant permission to make some of the amendments which it sought to make, dismissed the defendants’ objections to other amendments and issued to the parties a robust reminder of their obligations to co-operate with one another in the context of litigation, to comply with court orders and to adhere to deadlines set by the court.