Industrial Tribunals Northern Ireland Decisions

 
THE INDUSTRIAL TRIBUNALS

CASE REF: 00503/02

CLAIMANT: Samuel Wilson

RESPONDENT: North & West Belfast Health & Social Services Trust

DECISION ON A PRE-HEARING REVIEW

The decision of the tribunal is that an 'Unless Order' be issued to the claimant giving him 14 days to comply with the outstanding Orders of the industrial tribunal, copies of which are attached hereto.

Constitution of Tribunal:

Chairman: Mrs Ó Murray

Appearances:

The claimant was represented by Ms P McKernan, Barrister-at-Law, instructed by David A Martin LLb.

The respondent was represented by Mr M Harvey, Solicitor, of Brangam & Bagnall, Solicitors.

1. The purpose of the hearing was to consider the respondent's application to strike out the claimant's claim for failure to comply with an Order for Additional Information dated 7 December 2005.
2. The reason for the claimant's failure to deal with the Order of 7 December 2005 was due, for the most part, to the illness of the solicitor having carriage of his case. That solicitor's firm first came on record for the claimant in June 2005. Whilst I find it unacceptable that the claimant's solicitor failed to communicate with the respondent's solicitor from June to December 2005 and failed to comply with the Order made during his carriage of the case, and it is also unacceptable that no solicitor in that firm took steps to deal with outstanding matters in this case in the solicitor's absence between January and 10 April this year, I nevertheless find that immediate strike out would be a disproportionate response to these failures given the illness of the solicitor and given the fact that the Order made during his carriage of the case is a fairly recent Order.
3. Following representations from both sides, and having considered the approach to be adopted in appropriate cases as indicated by our Court of Appeal in the Darley decision, I have decided not to issue an immediate Order to strike out. I have decided instead to issue an 'Unless Order' requiring compliance with all the outstanding Orders dated 20 May 2002, 8 April 2004, and 7 December 2005, within 14 days failing which the claimant's claim will be struck out without further Notice or Order.
4. The information and documentation sought from the claimant has been sought over a long period from the claimant by way of requests and Orders while he was represented by others and represented himself and should be readily to hand. As the content of the outstanding Orders overlap to a large extent, I therefore direct that all the outstanding Orders be complied with within 14 days.

Chairman:

Date and place of hearing: 12 April 2006, Belfast

Date decision recorded in register and issued to parties: