Cases

Basham v Gregory

Held

The Court held that even though the Defendants had shown great dilatoriness, they would have been at a hopeless disadvantage if they could not rely on the additional material which they sought to adduce under the proposed amendments to their existing plea of justification. In addition, in a libel trial before a jury, there was a serious question as to how valuable would be the vindication which a claimant would receive from an award of damages if it was achieved against a defendant who was not able to advance the defence he wished. The Court was at pains to stress that these factors were not "trump cards" permitting late applications to amend, even where this might mean the adjournment of a trial. Each case will depend upon its own facts.

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