Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) v Avacade Ltd & Ors

An application to adjourn a civil trial on medical grounds requires an assessment of the medical evidence together with the procedural history, the nature of the issues, the applicant’s role, available accommodations, fairness, and the public and private consequences of delay. Medical evidence must identify the condition, explain why it prevents participation, provide a reasoned prognosis, and demonstrate an independent assessment. A court may decide that a fair trial remains possible despite non-attendance where the issues are substantially documentary, the applicant’s case overlaps with that of another party, and the court will determine the merits rather than enter judgment automatically. Practical accommodations should be considered. An adjournment may properly be refused where the proposed respite is unlikely to resolve the underlying difficulty or may merely defer its recurrence.

The Financial Conduct Authority brought civil proceedings against two companies and three individuals alleging contraventions of the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000 and related legislation concerning pension transfers and high-risk investments. The third defendant, Craig Lummis, applied shortly before a 19-day trial for an adjournment on medical grounds. He relied on evidence of serious mental health conditions, suicidal ideation and an asserted inability to participate as a litigant in person. The FCA opposed the application, relying on the lateness of the application, the public interest, wasted costs, the documentary nature of the case, overlapping evidence with another defendant, and the possibility of practical accommodations. The central issue was whether fairness and the overriding objective required the trial to be adjourned.

1. The application was dismissed. The decision to adjourn was a case-management discretion requiring consideration of all relevant factors, the overriding objective and the need to deal with the case justly.

2. Medical evidence should identify the medical attendant and the relevant consultations, specify the condition and the features preventing participation, provide a reasoned prognosis, and give the court confidence that it reflects an independent opinion following proper examination. The evidence remains part of the overall material and is not determinative by itself. The court may weigh it against the previous conduct of the case and the wider procedural circumstances.

3. The court distinguished between complete inability to participate and an ability to engage in a more limited way. The medical evidence did not adequately address whether attendance only for evidence, commenting on transcripts, discussions with another defendant, or other accommodations could permit effective participation. The applicant had full mental capacity and had recently engaged actively with disclosure.

4. Fairness under common law and Article 6 of the European Convention on Human Rights is assessed contextually. The nature of the hearing, the issues, the applicant’s role, the stage reached, and the possibility of representation or other accommodations are relevant. Refusal of an adjournment may be unjust where effective participation is impossible, but a fair trial may remain possible where the case is substantially documentary, primary facts are largely undisputed, and the applicant’s defence will still be considered on its merits.

5. The proposed six-month respite was problematic because the defendant faced other proceedings and investigations, and the evidence did not establish that treatment or delay would resolve the condition rather than postpone its recurrence. The late application would cause substantial disruption, wasted costs and delay in litigation involving significant public interest.

6. The court encouraged consideration of limited participation and directed that fairness should remain under review during the trial. If serious difficulties arose, the trial judge could take further steps, including adjourning the proceedings against the third defendant alone.