No letter before action

Merial Ltd v Sankyo Co Ltd ChD Lawtel 16 December

The unsuccessful defendant argued that costs should not be awarded to the claimant because the claimant had not written a letter before action and, if it had done so, the proceedings would have been unnecessary. The court held that while a letter before action would have been appropriate, it should not exercise its discretion as sought by the defendant because such a letter was more than likely to have had no effect on the defendant’s conduct.