Abuse of process

Barrett v Universal/Island Records Ltd and another (ChD TLR 24 April)

An application for an order that a claim be struck out under CPR rule 3.4(2) as an abuse of process should not be treated in any different way to other summary applications for final relief, such as applications for summary judgment under CPR Part 24. Such applications should not be allowed to develop into mini-trials. In both cases the Court was being invited to deprive a party of its normal entitlement to a full trial of its claim for defence. In order to do that at an early stage, the Court had to have a high degree of confidence that the claim or defence would not succeed at the trial. Because the facts and issues in the present case were complicated it was not a suitable one for summary determination.