THE HONOURABLE MR JUSTICE NICKLIN Approved Judgment
MBR Acres Ltd -v- McGivern
Application must be provided with fair notice of the evidence against him/her. Depending on what is forthcoming, it may be that the Respondent would apply to adjourn the Contempt Application. The Court will have to deal with this as events unfold. (C) I am not prepared to adjourn the Contempt Application at this stage. First, I do not know whether Ms McGivern would be able to attend a hearing on 2 August 2022. Second, I am doubtful whether there is sufficient time on 2 August 2022 (which is already an exceptional hearing taking place in the vacation) to complete both the Contempt Application and the adjourned cases against [two other Defendants], which must be resolved on 2 August 2022. (D) I do not accept that the fact Ms McGivern has been given permission by the SRA to practise pending the Contempt Application reduces the urgency that I identified in the ‘Reasons’ section of the last Order. Ms McGivern’s evidence in her witness statement is that she has had to ask her firm ‘ for time away from work as [she] cannot function as a consequence of this application. ’ The position is therefore that although she has been permitted by the SRA to practise, she is not doing so. The urgency to resolve this application remains.” 42. As indicated, I had reservations about permitting a witness summons to be used by the Claimants in support of their contempt application. There was a risk of ambush. However, it appeared to me to represent the best course to adopt in the short term. The contempt application needed to be dealt with. The Claimants had indicated that they believed that they could obtain evidence from the police that was potentially relevant to Ms McGivern’s state of knowledge of the Injunction. Ultimately, the Court could address at the hearing whether any prejudice to Ms McGivern by the late service of evidence would lead to her seeking an adjournment. 43. On 18 July 2022, the Claimants filed the Ninth Affidavit of Ms Pressick in answer to Ms McGivern’s witness statement. The material parts of her affidavit are as follows: “9. Ms McGivern has been assisting Ronan Falsey since at least 27 April 2022. She accepts she has been acting for certain of the protestors since 27 April 2022 at paragraph 10 of her witness statement. On 27 April 2022, Ronan Falsey (the Fourth Defendant) had a criminal trial in respect of actions he had allegedly performed at the Wyton Site before the Peterborough Magistrates Court… 10. I was not present at the hearing on 27 April 2022. However, I was called by PC Dalton Shailes of the police on 27 April 2022 at around lunchtime who asked for a copy of the Injunction Order as they wanted to refer to it during the hearing. I sent a copy of the Injunction Order dated 19 January 2022 to PC Shailes at 13.41 [a copy is exhibited]. The reason the Claimants provided the Order dated 19 July 2022 rather than the Order dated 31 March 2022 was because the 31 March 2022 Order had not been sealed by the Court by the time of the Request. It was only sealed and received by the Claimants on 28 April 2022 at 09.57am.
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