Mr S Knight v British Airways plc — 2023

The respondent applied to strike out the claimant's claims under Rule 37(1)(a), (b), (c) and (e), following the claimant's request for a seven day extension to comply with a case management order requiring dates for events in the list of issues. The claimant provided the further document on 30 November 2022, seven days after the original deadline.

The Tribunal was not satisfied that the claims had no reasonable prospects of success, or that the claimant's conduct amounted to unreasonable behaviour. Although there had been a breach of the case management order, the Tribunal accepted that the delay had been explained by the claimant's illness and postal strikes, and found that the necessary information had since been provided.

The Tribunal found nothing to suggest that a fair trial was no longer possible, that the respondent had been unduly prejudiced, or that the delayed compliance had affected the evidence. It concluded that strike out would be disproportionate and refused the respondent's application.