Mrs M Morgridge v Nottingham University Hospitals NHS Trust — 2021

This was a judgment on Mrs Morgridge's application dated 14 November 2020 to strike out Nottingham University Hospitals NHS Trust's response. The application was put on the grounds that the Respondent's conduct had been scandalous, unreasonable and vexatious, that Tribunal orders had not been complied with, that the response had no reasonable prospect of success, and that a fair hearing was no longer possible.

Employment Judge Hutchinson dismissed the application. The Judge accepted that there had been failings by the Respondent, including failure to meet a disclosure date ordered by Employment Judge Clark and failure to seek an extension before the deadline expired, but accepted the explanation given about difficulties completing preparation of the bundle. The Judge found that this did not amount to scandalous, unreasonable or vexatious behaviour.

The Judge was not satisfied at that stage that the Respondent had tried to stop documents being added to the bundle, nor that its application concerning consolidation was unreasonable. The Judge also found that there was not sufficient evidence at this stage to establish that documents had been tampered with or forged; those disputed allegations would require evidence and would be considered at the final hearing.

The Judge found that any non-compliance with Tribunal orders did not justify strike out because it did not affect the Tribunal's ability to hold a fair hearing, there was a good explanation for the non-compliance, and the case was not listed until November. The Judge also found that the response did not have no reasonable prospect of success because there were clear factual disputes requiring a hearing. No remedy or monetary award was made in this judgment.