Elvitt John Welsh v Ministry of Defence
| Jurisdiction | Northern Ireland |
| Judge | Deeny J |
| Judgment Date | 2006 |
| Neutral Citation | [2006] NIQB 55 |
| Date | 06 September 2006 |
| Court | Queen's Bench Division (Northern Ireland) |
Neutral Citation No. [2006] NIQB 55 Ref:
DEEC5635
Judgment: approved by the Court for handing down Delivered:
06/09/2006
(subject to editorial corrections)
IN THE HIGH COURT OF JUSTICE IN NORTHERN IRELAND
QUEEN’S BENCH DIVISION
________
BETWEEN:
ELVITT JOHN WELSH
Plaintiff;
and
MINISTRY OF DEFENCE
Defendant.
________
DEENY J
[1] This is an appeal by the plaintiff from an order of Master Wilson QC of
June 2006 dismissing the plaintiff’s action for want of prosecution. The
application was brought under Order 3 rule 6.2, Order 34 rule 2 and the
inherent jurisdiction of the court.
[2] As appears from the affidavit of Mrs Mary O’Kane, Solicitor, of the
Crown Solicitors Office the plaintiff’s claim arose out of an accident on 6 June
1997, some 9 years ago. This took place while he was a serving soldier in the
course of an army exercise in Canada. He alleges that he was required to
jump out of a helicopter approximately 15 feet above the ground as a result of
which he broke his leg.
[3] Mr Philip Aldworth who appeared for the defendant outlined the
delay in the matter which he contended, I find rightly, to be inordinate. The
writ of summons was not issued until 26 May 2000. The House of Lords has
ruled in Donavan v Gwentoys Ltd [1990] 1 All ER 1018 that in considering
limitation and the balance of prejudice the court may take into account the
whole period of delay between the date of the accident and the date of the
hearing. I do so here. The statement of claim was served with reasonable
expedition on 8 November 2000 and was responded to by the defence on 14
March 2001. However the defendant’s detailed notice for particulars of the
same date was not replied to for a full 2½ years, namely on 16 September
2003. There has been no step in the proceedings since that date ie a period of
more than 2 years.
To continue reading
Request your trial