Delay of 19 years precludes possibility of fair trial in personal injuries claim

Personal injuries - application to dismiss plaintiff's claim on grounds of delay - inherent jurisdiction of the court - injuries from fall off bicycle during package holiday in 1998 - proceedings issued in August 1999 - chronology of proceedings appended to judgment - review of replies to particulars by plaintiff in September 2003 - notice of intention to proceed in 2013, 2014 & 2015 - notice of trial served in March 2016 - no excuse or explanation offered for plaintiff's delay - general prejudice - medical doctor is now deceased - witnesses cannot be tracked - whether central issue is in fact the supply of an unsafe bicycle to the plaintiff - balance of justice - whether a fair trial can now take place - no prospect that witnesses will recall event - hearsay evidence of contemporaneous conversation between plaintiff and doctor in immediate aftermath of injuries is unavailable - issue of liability - allegation of improper instruction on use of bicycle can only now be given by the instructors themselves - whether defendant's acquiescence disentitles it to order sought - defendant entitled to await service of notice of trial prior to issuing motion to dismiss - fair trial now not possible given lapse of time - claim dismissed.