Michael Mangat v Emma Mangat

Relief from sanctions is governed by the three-stage test in Denton. The court must address the reason for the breach before treating the absence of prejudice or available court time as sufficient grounds for relief. A serious failure to file a costs budget on time, caused by an administrative error with no good reason, may justify refusal of relief. On an application for permission to appeal, the question is whether the lower court made an appealable error, not whether another judge might have reached a different conclusion.

The claimant sought renewed oral permission to appeal an order made by HHJ Gerald in the County Court at Central London on 23 November 2021. The order refused relief from sanctions following the claimant’s failure to file a costs budget within the required time.

The central issues were whether the lower court had properly applied the three-stage test for relief from sanctions and whether the claimant had a realistic prospect of establishing an appealable error.

1. Permission refused. The renewed application for permission to appeal was dismissed because the proposed appeal had no realistic prospect of success and disclosed no appealable error.
2. The court confirmed that relief from sanctions must be considered under the three-stage test in Denton. The failure to file a costs budget within the prescribed time was serious. The fact that the breach was not deliberate and resulted from an administrative error did not, without more, establish a good reason.
3. The absence of prejudice to the other party and the existence of time in the court diary to consider a late budget were relevant matters. They did not, however, eliminate the need to address the second stage of the test, namely the reasons for the breach.
4. The lower judge was entitled to conclude that there was no good reason for the failure and that the test for relief had not been satisfied. The appellate question was whether the test had been misapplied, not whether the appellate judge would have reached the same conclusion on the facts.

• Chancery Appeals (ChD): renewed oral application for permission to appeal refused.
• County Court at Central London: HHJ Gerald’s order of 23 November 2021 refused relief from sanctions for late filing of a costs budget.