Mr M Darghouth v Stephenson Hotel Limited — 2022

This was a preliminary judgment in a discrimination case listed for a four-day final hearing. The respondent applied to strike out the claimant's claim under Rule 37(1)(c), later relying also on Rule 37(1)(b) and (e), and the claimant made a mirrored oral application to strike out the respondent's response. Neither side identified prejudice to support an argument that a fair hearing was no longer possible.

The tribunal recorded substantial non-compliance by both parties with case management orders. The claimant had not complied with any order until very recently and only after Tribunal intervention, including an unless order. The respondent was late with disclosure, provided witness statements very late or not at all, and did not prepare a paginated bundle for the final hearing. The tribunal said there was an almost complete lack of proactive preparation by both representatives and that the excuses advanced did not amount to a proper explanation.

The tribunal found no merit in either strike-out application. It refused both the respondent's application to strike out the claim and the claimant's application to strike out the response, and ordered the hearing postponed so that the case could be properly prepared and determined on its merits. No substantive findings were made on the underlying discrimination allegations in this decision.