Barnet Council - trip over their own shoelaces

Mr Mustard has read the complete judgment in this case.

You can read the entire judgment here. Mr Mustard has picked out the highlights for you to save time but a read of the entire judgment is possible on the link above.

Put in layman's terms, a Mr Shah tripped up on a badly maintained Barnet pavement and was seriously injured. Barnet Council admitted liability and then when they found out that the claim was going to cost them a lot more than they thought they tried to change their mind (resile) but the High Court made them eat their words.

Comments in advance of each extract: The outline.

Barnet's chronology was short on detail.

Liability wrongly denied

Mr Shah's accident was a serious one.

Barnet Council are incompetent

WO = work order.

Barnet Council admit liability: there should be no going back on that.

The route of Mr Shah was obvious to anyone who looked at an online map.

The lack of other complaints doesn't prove there wasn't a defect only that other defects hadn't been reported.

Several problems with Barnet Council's evidence.

Barnet Council evidence is 'hopeless'.

Barnet Council described as 'barely credible' which is almost accusing them of lying.

Why wasn't a better search made for evidence by staff within Highways who knew how to find it?

Conduct of Barnet Council - they didn't invite Mr Shah to the site inspection when he could have identified the trip hazard. Rude, unbusinesslike and, in the event, expensive.

Barnet Council - inefficient

Barnet council - inadequate record keeping.

Barnet Council don't convince the judge that they have much of a case should they be allowed to fight it.

Barnet Council largely ignoring Mr Shah and laying tarmac over the location didn't help them.

The trial of  the application by Barnet Council to resile from their (change their mind about) admission of liability and of the claimant Mr Shah for judgment to be given in his favour will have cost thousands. Costs are usually awarded to the succesful party so Barnet Council have wasted more of our money. They may say they could have won and there sometimes are surprising judgments made but based upon what we can all read here of the exhibited incompetence of the council this case was only ever going to go one way.

Barnet Council Highways department. Remind Mr Mustard who ran that in August 2018. Yes, Regional Enterprise Ltd, a company 51% owned by Capita. This has been earmarked for return to the council in 2023. Were the councillors who made the decision told about this legal case which was heard in July 2021 and the judgment was handed down in September 2021 such that highways knew about it? Probably not is Mr Mustard's guess.

End.