Mr E Evans v Maritime and Coast Guard Agency — 2022

By judgment dated 21 March 2022, Employment Judge Rayner Date struck out the claimant's complaints of unfair dismissal and disability discrimination in their entirety under Rule 37. The Tribunal recorded that the claimant had not complied with earlier case management orders dated 3 December 2021 and 7 February 2022, had not provided disclosure, had not agreed an index or bundle of documents, and had not exchanged witness statements.

The Tribunal referred to a strike-out warning issued on 16 March 2022, which gave the claimant until 12 noon on 18 March 2022 to respond. No response was received. The Tribunal held that a fair hearing was no longer possible by the hearing listed for 22 to 25 March 2022, so the four-day hearing was vacated.

In reaching that conclusion, the Tribunal referred to Rule 37(1)(c) and Rule 37(1)(d), and to the authorities in Weir Valves & Control (UK) Ltd v Armitage, Birkett v James, and Khan v London Borough of Barnet. The reasons state that the claimant had been given a number of opportunities to comply, but since the amended orders of 7 February 2022 he had provided no reason for his lack of engagement and had not demonstrated a real intention to progress the claim.