IN THE COURT OF APPEAL (CIVIL DIVISION)
ON APPEAL FROM THE QUEEN'S BENCH DIVISION
(His Honour Judge Wilcox: sitting as a High Court Judge)
Strand London WC2 Tuesday, 16th April 2002 |
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B e f o r e :
LORD JUSTICE MAY
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(1) MAVIS BOWDEN | ||
(2) BRIAN BOWDEN | ||
Claimants/Applicants | ||
- v - | ||
LANCASHIRE COUNTY COUNCIL | ||
Defendant/Respondent |
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Smith Bernal Reporting Limited, 190 Fleet Street,
London EC4A 2AG
Tel: 0171 421 4040
Official Shorthand Writers to the Court)
appeared on behalf of the Applicants.
The Respondent did not appear and was unrepresented.
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Crown Copyright ©
Tuesday, 16th April 2002
"Whether, in the absence of an allegation of bad faith, a local authority owes a duty of care to a Respondent when making an ex parte application to a Justice of the Peace in reliance upon section 75(3) of the Children Act 1989 for cancellation of the respondent's registration of the children's nursery under the urgent procedure."
"Bearing in mind that the time limit for filing a notice of appeal is 14 days, it is nothing short of astonishing that the application to the LSC for an amendment to the legal aid certificate was not made until almost 28 days after the decision, that it took from 27th April 2001 to 4th July 2001 for the further application for an amendment to be made, and that there was yet further delay between 7th January 2002, when the appropriately amended certificate was received and the 8th February 2002 for the application to be filed. Even if much of the delay can be laid at the door of the LSC, it is difficult to see how Mr Ramsden can sensibly say in paragraph 20 of his statement that he believed that the applicant's legal advisers had acted with appropriate expedition. Even if, therefore, the lengthy delays by the LSC could be said to justify an extension, I would in any event be concerned as to why more active steps were not taken to prod the LSC into action. There can be no justification for the delay by the applicant's legal advisers. The overall delay is such that it would not be just to grant an extension of time."