Civil appeals to the Supreme Court

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The Supreme Court is the final court of appeal in the UK for civil cases. It hears cases of the greatest public or constitutional importance and plays an important role in the development of United Kingdom law. It hears appeals on arguable points of law from the civil division of the Court of Appeal and, in some very limited cases, the High Court.

The Supreme Court has its own set of rules, the Supreme Court Rules (referred to in this overview as 'SCR') and its own set of Practice Directions (referred to in this overview as ‘SCR PDs’). These are entirely separate to the Civil Procedure Rules, which govern procedure in the County Courts, High Court and Court of Appeal.

The SCR were enacted by the Supreme Court Rules 2024, SI 2024/949, which revoke and replace the Supreme Court Rules 2009 (referred to in this Practice Note as ‘old SCR’). For an introduction to the Supreme Court Rules 2024, see Practice Note: Guide to the Supreme Court Rules 2024.

The Supreme Court has a website on which much information is available

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Latest Dispute Resolution News

Can a bankruptcy petition be heard at a hearing listed for a set-aside application? When can a guarantee found a petition? (Matthews v BSN (SW) Property Ltd)

Restructuring & Insolvency analysis: On appeal, His Honour Judge Paul Matthews (sitting as a Judge of the High Court) held that it was not a procedural irregularity for the judge at first instance to go on and hear the bankruptcy petition, after he had dismissed an application to set aside an earlier order. The question of procedural irregularity is one of substance not of form. The judicial act of deciding what to hear, and when, is not hamstrung by the administrative act by the court staff of publishing a list of matters to be heard on a particular occasion. The court also reviewed the law on when a guarantee creates a debt in a liquidated sum, which was another of the six grounds of appeal. When acting for the creditor, consider whether the next hearing can be used to hear the petition. When acting for the debtor, raise any objections to hearing the petition at the time. Written by Robert Machell, barrister at Enterprise Chambers.

Solicitor-client costs and CFA enforceability—Substance over form (Richardson & Others v Slater & Gordon UK Ltd)

PI & Clinical Negligence analysis: This case concerned proceedings brought by 224 claimants, seeking assessment of costs deducted from their personal injury settlements under Conditional Fee Agreements (‘CFAs’). Senior Costs Judge Rowley, sitting in the Senior Courts Costs Office, addressed a number of preliminary issues in the dispute. Within those, the court considered the enforceability of the relevant CFAs and the obligations of solicitors to ensure clients are adequately informed. Senior Costs Judge Rowley’s decision serves as a helpful and timely reminder of the standards practitioners must meet when explaining CFA terms to clients, including the relevance of whether clients have read the agreement. Those questions were addressed with respect to a number of relevant pieces of legislation, including the Consumer Contracts (Information, Cancellation and Additional Charges Regulations 2013, reg 14 and section 62 of the Consumer Rights Act 2015 (CRA 2015). This decision also serves as guidance on other pertinent issues, such as the proper approach to determining the reasonableness of success fees, and the degree of precision required within agreements to escape section 74(3) of the Solicitors Act 1974 (SA 1974), which limits solicitor-client costs to the amount recoverable in litigation. Written by Connor Wright, barrister, St Philips Chambers.

Phones4U can't revive collusion case against UK networks

Law360, London: The Court of Appeal dismissed Phones 4u's claims on 11 July 2025 that the UK's biggest phone operators colluded to drive the retailer out of business, upholding findings that there was no evidence of anticompetitive behavior between the networks.

Part 18 requests and the role of agency in solicitor-client cost assessments (Turner v Coupland Cavendish Ltd)

Dispute Resolution analysis: The question for the court was whether Part 18 requests in relation to a policy of After the Event (ATE) insurance should be answered, whether as part of solicitor own client costs assessment (SOCA) or as part of the court’s consideration of the solicitor-client cash account. The court held that there was no strict requirement for a prima facie or arguable case prior to the raising of a Part 18 request in respect of the solicitor-client cash account; a reasonable suspicion was sufficient grounds. Part 18 in this context did not impose the same threshold requirements as disclosure. The specific Part 18 request subject of the appeal related to details of secret commissions paid as part of the solicitor arranging ATE insurance for the lay client to use in a CFA funded personal injury claim. A conflict in previous authorities as to whether such policies can and generally should be subject of Part 18 request was resolved in favour of Part 18 applying. Written by Lauren Godfrey, barrister at Gatehouse Chambers.

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