"The value of the claim is just in excess of£2,000 on the claim form and the initial documentation. Of course, the starting point is where a claim has a value of below£5,000 , its starting point, in terms of allocation and the usual course of these matters is to be allocated to the small claims track in the absence of any good reason to do otherwise."
"The next matter that I want to deal with is the appropriate venue for the trail of these very many claims, only some of which are being dealt with by me today. The broad consensus has been that the normal case will be allocated to the fast track and even if the judgment cannot be given within a day, it is thought that the evidence usually will occupy no more than a day. Most of the cases in these Courts will, therefore, be dealt with on that track. Cases with rather more substance or complexity (and there have been some examples today) will be allocated to the multi-track…"
"One of the purposes of the last hearing in this one and indeed the previous case management conference before His Honour Judge Holman, was to see whether it was possible to elicit discrete preliminary issues or test cases. That was not a proposal which attracted itself either to the Claimants or the Defendants generally, largely because it was thought that these cases are fact sensitive. I have taken the view, exercising my case management powers, that, although that is right, these are not always the simplest of cases and there are concepts, such as unfair relationship and the alleged breaches if highly specific rules under ICOB, where the facts as found then have to be analysed in those contexts. It was and remains my firm view that a few selected cases, whose decisions are given prominence and the status of a High Court decision, may well give austere or provide some guidance to those who are litigating the claims here and elsewhere."
"Essentially what the argument amounts to is that, in the event that this matter is allocated to the small claims track, is the complexity of this matter, in relation to the facts, law or evidence, going to be such that essentially the matter should be allocated elsewhere? Can this be dealt with within the ordinary small claims track? Is there anything which essentially takes it out of that? It is not a straightforward question to answer, however, on balance, what this matter turns upon is funding. It is as simple as that. It is said that, if this matter is allocated to the small claims track, the client will have to reconsider his position and the relationship with the Defendant will not be on an equal footing and there will be prejudice."
" I take the view that essentially there is nothing in this case which takes it outside the ambit of the small claims track. There is nothing, given the particular facts of this matter rather than the general in relation to the claim that takes it out of the small claims track and there is nothing in relation to which the Claimant cannot be assisted by the Judge dealing with the matter at trial."
"The appeal Court will allow an appeal where the decision of the lower Court was: (a) wrong; or (b) unjust because of a serious procedural or other irregularity in the proceedings in the lower Court."
"The appellate Court should only interfere where they consider that the Judge of first instance has not merely preferred an imperfect solution which is different from an alternative imperfect solution which the Court of appeal might or would have adopted but has exceeded the generous ambit within which a reasonable disagreement is possible."
"Before the Court can interfere it must be shown that the Judge has either erred in principle in his approach or has left out of account or has taken into account some feature that he should or should not have considered, or that his discretion was wholly wrong because the Court is forced to the conclusion that he has not balanced the various factors fairly in the scale."