High Court, in personal injuries proceedings, refuses to set aside third party notice served on the applicant some 13 months after the issuance of the proceedings, on the grounds that no evidence of actual prejudice as a result of receipt of the notice had been proffered, and the defendant (who served the notice) had previously communicated with the applicant group of companies such that it was clear to the applicant that the defendant would be seeking a contribution from the group in connection with the proceedings then in being.
Personal injuries - application to set aside third-party notice - O.16 r. 8(3) RSC - wall-mounted television fell from wall and struck plaintiff on head and face - substantive proceedings concerned with defendant's actions in installing and fitting television unit - whether first-named defendant delayed unduly in bringing motion to join applicant as a third party - 13 months - defendant had wrongly named a dissolved company as the second defendant - whether defendant should have known of the proper name and didn't act as soon as reasonably possible to rectify its error - whether delay wholly unexplained and excessive - whether a failure to disclose prejudice - multiplicity of companies under control of applicant - applicant sought a third-party statement of claim and therefore engaged in the proceedings - legal principles to be applied - requirement to move with reasonable expedition - unreasonable not to have carried out a CRO search prior to writing indemnity letter - third party's detail never explored - whole circumstances of case to be considered - claim not statute-barred - application not made too late - relief refused - question of prejudice not explored as no evidence of actual prejudice established.