MULTI-PARTY LITIGATION AND ABUSE OF PROCESS

Aldi Stores Ltd v WSP Group plc [2007] EWCA Civ 1260, 28 November 2007

In Aldi Stores Ltd v WSP Group plc [2007] EWCA Civ 1260, 28 November 2007 the Court of Appeal held, allowing an appeal from the decision of Mr Justice Jackson ([2007] EWHC 55 (TCC); [2007] BLR 113), that the defendant contractors were not entitled to strike out the claimant’s claim against them on the ground that it was an abuse of process because the claim could and should have been brought in previous litigation to which the defendants were a party. The decision whether or not to strike out a claim as an abuse of process requires the trial judge to consider and balance a range of factors. While appellate courts will generally be reluctant to interfere in this balancing exercise, on the present facts Mr Justice Jackson was held to have reached a decision which was impermissible by taking into account factors which he should not have done and omitting factors which he should have taken into account.