Mr Gary Reid v MML Marine Limited — 2022

Mr Reid presented his ET1 on 22 June 2022 after ACAS early conciliation, saying he was pursuing disability discrimination and "other payments". The Tribunal then required further and better particulars and a schedule of loss. The claimant later provided medical evidence about his daughter's acute lymphoblastic leukaemia and said he was seeking a lump sum and past loss of earnings; his schedule of loss first put past loss at £18,548.88 and was later amended to £11,118.28, with future loss to be calculated.

By the January 2023 preliminary hearing, the claimant still had not produced a satisfactory agenda or fully clarified the factual and legal basis of the case. The respondents applied to strike out under Rule 37(1)(b), (c) and (d), arguing that the proceedings had been conducted unreasonably, that tribunal orders had not been complied with, and that the claim had not been actively pursued. The Tribunal accepted that the claimant had sent correspondence, but held that it was not material compliance because the pleadings remained unclear and kept shifting, including references at different stages to discrimination, victimisation, and later reasonable-adjustments issues.

The Tribunal did not find the case scandalous or vexatious, but held that the claimant's failure to take up the signposted advice and to comply with repeated case management directions amounted to unreasonable conduct, non-compliance, and a failure actively to pursue the claim. It considered that a lesser step such as an unless order would not be enough in light of the procedural history, and struck out the claimant's entire claim and dismissed it. No merits hearing was held and no monetary award was made.