We saw a number of really long judgments from the TCC in 2016. Think Stuart-Smith J’s judgment in the Ocensa Pipeline Group Litigation as an example.
I don’t know why but it feels like I always seem to be the one that gets to cover them (even if that isn’t true). Therefore, you can imagine my enthusiasm when I saw Coulson J’s latest epic in Harlequin Property (SVG) Ltd and another v Wilkins Kennedy. I called the judgment in the Ocensa Pipeline Group Litigation a modern day equivalent of Tolstoy’s War and Peace. Therefore, at just under 900 paragraphs, Coulson J’s judgment could be called a baby War and Peace. Luckily I was stuck on a delayed train the day after I saw it on Bailii, so there was plenty of time to digest what Coulson J had written.
If you don’t do anything more, I implore you to read the first 13 paragraphs to get a feel for the case’s “startling features” and then the next 10 paragraphs to understand the witness evidence.The facts demonstrate that you can’t make this stuff up and the real world really is (sometimes) better than fiction. Continue reading
