“…e the application was considered on the papers alone. He relied on a passage in the judgment of Sir Thomas Bingham MR in Smith v Linskills (A Firm) and another [1996] 1 WLR 763 as supporting his submission, but in my judgement it undermines it. In Smith this court upheld the striking out of a claim brought against the claimant’s forme…”
“…A full opportunity of contesting proceedings may include proceedings affected by the negligence of a legal representative, see Smith v Linskills (a firm) [1996] 1 WLR 763. Relevant factors include whether there is a virtual impossibility of fairly retrying at a later date the issue of what was before the court on the earlier occ…”
“…n be challenged on appeal constitute a ‘final decision’ for the purposes of this kind of abuse. We were also referred to Smith v Linskills (a firm) and another [1996] 1 WLR 763 where a claimant, following his release from prison, sued his former solicitors in negligence for their conduct of his defence in the criminal proceedings. The…”