Fundamentally dishonest litigant in person sanctioned for undisciplined litigation conduct (Taiwo v Homelets of Bath Ltd)
PI & Clinical Negligence analysis: A claimant who had succeeded at a liability-only trial failed to obtain permission to appeal against the subsequent dismissal of her claim for fundamental dishonesty under section 57 of the Criminal Justice and Courts Act 2015 (CJCA 2015). Her claim, valued at approximately £2m, was based on alleged psychiatric injury said to have arisen from harassment and to have persisted for more than a decade. At the quantum trial, the court found that the claimant was not a protected party and that she had dishonestly exaggerated her symptoms over many years for financial gain. The claim was dismissed in its entirety. The High Court rejected all proposed grounds of appeal as not reasonably arguable, describing many as hopeless, and upheld wide-ranging costs consequences, including the disapplication of QOCS protection and the imposition of a civil restraint order. Chris Maynard, barrister at Tanfield Chambers, acted for the defendant in the appeal.