Mr M Ritchie v IMS Euro Limited — 2025

The claimant, Mr M Ritchie, brought case 6017206/2025 against IMS Euro Limited as a single complaint of disability discrimination said to arise from the respondent's decision to dismiss him on 13 May 2024. The respondent applied on 11 July 2025 to strike out the claim, saying it repeated complaints already raised in earlier claims under case numbers 6004181/2024 and 6006649/2024.

The tribunal recorded that the earlier disability discrimination complaint had already been dismissed by operation of an unless order made by Judge Tobin following a preliminary hearing on 22 November 2024. Mr Ritchie had also sought relief from sanction, but that application was refused at a preliminary hearing on 4 April 2025, so the earlier disability discrimination complaint remained dismissed.

Having considered the claimant's written and oral representations, which the tribunal said appeared to be limited to advice he believed he had received from ACAS, the judge did not accept that the present proceedings raised a new claim involving new facts unrelated to the earlier claims. The tribunal concluded that the claim was an attempt to relitigate a complaint already determined and that a fair hearing was no longer possible.

The claim was therefore struck out on the bases identified in rule 38: it was scandalous or vexatious within rule 38(1)(a), it had no reasonable prospect of success within rule 38(1)(a), and the manner in which the proceedings had been conducted by or on behalf of the claimant was scandalous, unreasonable or vexatious within rule 38(1)(b). The decision was expressly stated to be without prejudice to the earlier claims, including the remaining unfair dismissal complaint listed for hearing on 2 and 3 December 2025.