Withdrawal of admissions

Sowerby v Charlton CA TLR 5 January

Although RSC Order 27 rule 3 had been capable of embracing admissions before the relevant action was started, and under the new regime some provision was made for pre-action activity and its underlying philosophy was to promote the settlement of disputes without the need for instituting legal proceedings, the new Rules were principally concerned with the regulation of cases after an action was started. The words ‘A party may admit the truth of the whole or any part of another party’s case’ in CPR rule 14.1 could not have been intended to embrace a pre-action admission of a liability. It followed that a party to an action does not require the court’s permission under CPR rule 14.1(5) to withdraw an admission of liability made before the action started.