Agreeing extensions, save ££££££s online & consumers growing stronger
THE M WORD
You know the M word and it’s not Marmalade or Magnesium. We shall try to keep our promise and not mention it again or too often. This will be a challenge as we appraise you of the Civil Procedure (Amendment No 5) Rules 2014 (SI 2014/1233) which came into force yesterday, 5 June 2014, without any transitional provisions.
Now MA Lloyd & Sons Ltd v PPC International Ltd [2014] EWHC 41 QB, [2014] (D) 130 (Jan) (see “Civil way”, NLJ, 21 March 2014, p18) in the wake of that M case focused attention on CPR 3.8. This scuppers any effective agreement between parties to extend time for compliance with a direction or court order which carries a sanction for non-compliance. The application for an extension has had to be made to the court although it has been open to the non-defaulting party to state it will not oppose an extension subject to the court’s blessing. Lloyd & Sons has led to a heavy volume of extension applications which, while not unwelcome
