Mr P Costello v Glasgow City Council — 2021

At an open preliminary hearing, the Tribunal considered whether the claimant's Equality Act 2010 claims should be struck out for non-compliance with Tribunal orders. The relevant orders dated 14 July 2020, 8 August 2020 and 8 January 2021 required the claimant to provide specification of his disability discrimination claims, including the what, when, where, who and why of the allegations.

The Tribunal found that the claimant had not complied with those orders despite guidance from the Tribunal and warnings that non-compliance could lead to strike out under Rule 37(c). The claimant maintained that he had already provided the required information, including through emails, but the Tribunal found that he had not provided the specification ordered.

Applying the two-stage strike out approach, the Tribunal was satisfied that non-compliance with Tribunal orders was established and then considered whether to exercise its discretion. Taking account of the overriding objective, the claimant's status as a party litigant, the time allowed, and the repeated guidance and warnings given, the Tribunal concluded that this was a clear case for strike out of the Equality Act claims. The Tribunal did not determine whether the discrimination claims had merit because they had not been sufficiently specified.