Mr. C Reeves v The OM Group Corporation Limited — 2024

This was a costs hearing heard on 25 June 2024 before Employment Judge Smart sitting alone. The Claimant applied for a wasted costs order under Rule 80 against the Respondent's representatives, Croner. No oral evidence was heard; the Tribunal proceeded on documents and submissions only.

The Tribunal set out the chronology of delayed disclosure, missed exchange deadlines and the later relisting of the final hearing. It recorded that there had been communication problems between Croner and the Respondent, including IT difficulties and a period when the person with conduct of the file changed. The Tribunal also noted that privilege had not been waived, so it could not examine the full instructions or internal communications.

Applying the Rule 80 test and the principles in Ridehalgh v Horsefield and Medcalf v Mardell, the Tribunal was not persuaded that Croner, or any individual at Croner, had acted improperly, unreasonably or negligently. It found insufficient evidence that Croner were to blame rather than the Respondent, and gave Croner the benefit of the doubt where privilege prevented a full account. The Tribunal also accepted Miss Anderssen's evidence that a sudden bereavement contributed to some delay, and did not treat that as unreasonable conduct.

Because the Claimant failed at stage 1 of the three-stage test, the Tribunal did not go on to make findings on causation or the amount of any wasted costs order. The wasted costs application was dismissed.