3PB Barrister Successful in Appeal on Availability of Default Judgment After Late Filed Defences

8th May 2026

Oliver Nunn has successfully represented the Respondent in an appeal concerning the Court’s jurisdiction to enter default judgment where a Defence has been filed out of time but an extension of time has been refused.

The appeal arose out of proceedings brought by a finance provider to the private medical and dentistry sector. At first instance, the Defendant’s application for an extension of time to serve a Defence was dismissed and judgment was entered for approximately £90,000, together with costs. The Court also made findings of abuse of process, concluding that the Defendant’s CPR Part 18 Request was not a genuine request for clarification but an attempt to delay the proceedings.

On appeal, the Defendant contended that, because a Defence had in fact been filed prior to judgment being entered (albeit late), the Court lacked jurisdiction to enter default judgment under CPR 12.3(1). The appeal raised a novel procedural issue as to whether a Defence filed out of time, but in circumstances where the Court has refused an extension of time, is capable of preventing the entry of judgment.

Appearing for the Respondent at first instance and on appeal, Oliver advanced a number of technical arguments, including that the refusal of an extension of time meant the Defence was not filed in accordance with the CPR and therefore could not amount to a valid statement of case for the purposes of CPR Part 12. Alternatively, it was submitted that the Court had determined a preliminary issue as to whether the Defendant could rely on the late Defence, permitting judgment to be entered under CPR 3.1(2)(m). Further reliance was placed on CPR 3.10, on the basis that the late filing constituted a failure to comply with the rules and was a step which had been invalidated by the Court’s refusal to grant relief.

The Court considered a number of authorities in this area, including Ahmad v Ouajjou [2022] EWHC 3087 (Comm), Smith v Berrymans Lace Mawer [2019] EWHC 1904 (QB) and Galliani v Sartori [2023] EWHC 3306 (Comm).

HHJ Hedley, the Designated Civil Judge for Leicestershire & Northamptonshire, dismissed the appeal in full, agreeing that judgment had been properly entered and awarded the Respondent its costs of the appeal. The Appellant has indicated an intention to seek permission to appeal further to the Court of Appeal.

Oliver was instructed by Harvin Dhillon and Kuljeet Sandhu of Askews Legal LLP.

To contact or instruct Oliver, please email his clerk Sam Collins on [email protected] or call 0121 289 4333.