Pleased to have secured summary judgment on behalf of our client, in circumstances where the landlord refused to engage in unopposed lease renewal proceedings. 

We made the summary judgment application after we had filed and served our client’s witness and expert evidence and the landlord had failed to serve theirs.  The Court decided that the landlord had wilfully not participated in the litigation process and found in our client’s favour on the term, rent, and all other material terms on the basis that there was no viable alternative but to accept our client’s evidence. 

Interestingly, the Court even made provision for one of the partners in our firm to sign the lease on the landlord’s behalf because it anticipated that the landlord would refuse to do so.

An unusual case (even the most reluctant of landlords or tenants still tend to comply with the Court’s directions and partake in the process), but a reminder of the efficacy of a carefully deployed summary judgment / interim application, and the importance of submitting admissible and CPR-compliant evidence.