Case management
Hughes and others v World Rugby Ltd and others [2026] EWHC 2149 (KB)
The King’s Bench Division granted relief from sanction to claimants whose claims had been struck out for non-compliance with unless orders in the Rugby Head Injuries Litigation. Approximately 1,000 former rugby players from both Rugby Union and Rugby League codes alleged serious head injuries and neurological damage caused by sporting impacts, claiming the governing bodies breached their duty of care. The defendants challenged the nature and scope of duty, causation, and relied on limitation and volenti defences. Senior Master Cook found that 377 Rugby Union claimants and 153 Rugby League claimants had failed to comply with disclosure orders requiring production of all ‘testing process’ documents. The court rejected arguments that the disclosure obligations were ambiguous, limited to documents relied upon, or defeated by privilege, holding that ‘all’ meant all and that the relevant neurology interview material and King’s College DTI reports fell within the orders. Applying Denton v TH White [2014] 1 WLR 3926, the court held that the breaches were serious and significant and that
