In two recent cases in which judgment was given a day apart (The Gulf Agencies v Ahmed and Clydesdale Bank v John Workman) the Court of Appeal overturned the decisions of the first instance judges and severely criticised them for the manner in which they reached their decisions. In both cases, the first instance judges reached a conclusion regarding the honesty or believability of the witnesses before them (all of whom were solicitors) without properly addressing the evidence and/or without adhering to requirements to make an express finding and provide clear reasons for doing so in their judgments. The Court of Appeal stressed the importance of this, especially in cases against solicitors. Continue reading
