NEIL HICKMAN'S REPLY

Out of article does not necessarily mean out of mind.

Matthew Marsh accurately extracts the final practice direction on the evidence required to be served under CPR r56.3(10) and (11), but practitioners should be clear from the start what their case is and get the necessary material together to support it rather than attempting to address issues in drabs over a long period.

There will certainly be cases where it is commercially sensible to leave things in abeyance for a period.

But after a minimum of five months (two months under the Landlord and Tenant Act 1954 s29(3) and a three-month post-claim stay) it is not unreasonable, let alone 'injudicious', to expect the parties and their advisers to be clear about and able to explain what the issues actually are.

Last week, I received a two-line fax on a new tenancy claim, stating that the parties were negotiating and asking for an adjournment of the case management conference.

This came four months after the same solicitors had announced that the parties had agreed the terms of a new lease.

District judge Neil Hickman, Milton Keynes County Court