Why are so many firms stumbling their way to failure when it comes to applications for relief? Stephen Averill provides some answers
- Applications for relief, more than any other type of application, require the sympathy of the court.
- The best way of getting that is via an honest approach where those who are in default hold their hands up and can demonstrate a clear effort to put things right.
If you haven’t recently had the misfortune to require a successful application for relief from sanctions, the chances are you know someone who has. Although we are several years into the Jackson reforms, and were reliably warned about a new culture of compliance with rules and deadlines, it seems strange to me that the courts are seeing as many applications for relief from sanctions as they ever have.
There are some straightforward explanations. This culture of compliance creates opportunity for parties who are perhaps now keener to exploit any failure by an opponent who breaches a rule, practice direction or court order where they
