Francesca O’Neill successful in £5.5 million High Court strike out

Following on from Chambers’ success in the authoritative CN v Poole case, Francesca O’Neill was successful in persuading the High Court to uphold Master Eastman’s order to strike out this claim for damages of £5.5 million resulting from alleged breaches of the Human Rights Act. Master Eastman had held that the proceedings were an abuse of process and a collateral attack on the decisions of the Family Court, but Mrs Justice Laing had given permission for that Order to be appealed at a full hearing. Francesca’s submissions that Master Eastman’s order was not ultra vires and that the matter was an abuse of process res judicata were accepted and the appeal was dismissed.