The Defendant in High Court proceedings, Conversant Licensing SARL v Huawei Technologies Co Ltd and others [2020] EWHC 741 (Pat) (25 March 2020), sought an adjournment of the trial because of the restrictions in place because of corona virus. The Claimant suggested that the trial could proceed if both parties submitted detailed written submissions instead of skeleton arguments and the judge dealt with the matter by reading all the papers.
HHJ Hacon decided that the the Civil Procedure Rules would not allow this particular trial to proceed on that basis. However, he was positive about the alternate proposals for trial which suggests that in other cases it may be possible to continue with a trial without the parties being present at the court.
The judge commended C's legal team for suggesting an alternative way forward. It was helpful for parties to make practical and imaginative proposals as to how best to move litigation forward in the current circumstances.
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