Procedural mistakes continue to destroy perfectly good cases.

2026 has already produced a formidable collection of judgments involving missed deadlines, breached court orders, late applications, defective compliance, unless orders, costs budgets, default judgments and applications for relief from sanctions.

Some applications for relief have succeeded. Many have not. In some cases the consequences have been catastrophic.

This webinar looks at the cases decided during 2026 and asks the questions that matter to practising litigators:

• Why did things go wrong?
• Why was relief granted in some cases but refused in others?
• What could the lawyers have done to prevent the problem arising in the first place

And, perhaps most importantly:

• “What should you do when you discover that something has already gone wrong?”

Using cases reported and discussed throughout 2026, the webinar examines the practical operation of the rules relating to procedural default and relief from sanctions.

The emphasis throughout is on avoiding problems before they arise and dealing effectively with them when they do.

Topics include:

• Denton in 2026 – what the courts are actually doing with the three-stage test
• Serious and significant breaches – what has, and has not, crossed the threshold
• The search for a “good reason” – and explanations that have failed to impress the courts
• Stage three of Denton – the circumstances the courts are taking into account
• Unless orders and peremptory orders – when sanctions take effect and the importance of construing the order correctly
• When there has not actually been a breach at all – important Court of Appeal guidance on the construction of unless orders
• Repeated default – what happens when non-compliance becomes a pattern rather than an isolated mistake
• Delay and inactivity – why doing nothing can be fatal even where the underlying case is substantial
• Default judgment and Denton – the continuing interaction between CPR 13 and the relief from sanctions principles
• Costs budgets – the consequences of leaving them until the last minute
• Appeals and time limits – why getting the date wrong can end the appeal before it starts
• Whose fault is it anyway? – the significance of default being the fault of the solicitor rather than the client
• Public bodies and compliance – whether different considerations arise when a public authority is in default
• The merits of the underlying case – why having a strong claim or defence does not provide a “free pass”
• Applications for relief from sanctions – evidence, timing, explanation and presentation
• Preventing procedural default – systems that should be in place in every litigation practice