Clarke & Anor v Porthcawl Town Council & Anor

Facts

The claimants, Michael and Norah Clarke, were councillors of Porthcawl Town Council, the first defendant; the second defendant, Kerry Grabham, was its town clerk. An audit report produced around June 2021, which the claimants say was procured by the second defendant, was put before the Council and published in part on its website. The claimants contended that it was highly inaccurate and bore meanings defamatory of them, and they sought unsuccessfully through October and November 2021 to have the full Council review it. Through a direct access barrister they sent a letter of claim on 11 May 2022, revised and expanded into a 19-page letter of claim dated 17 June 2022 requiring a response by 4 July 2022. The defendants' insurers instructed solicitors, but no substantive response came until an email of 13 July 2022 which proposed a limitation standstill; by then, fearing expiry of the one-year limitation period under section 4A of the Limitation Act 1980, the claimants had issued a Part 7 claim form for libel on 12 July 2022. The claim was never served and lapsed. The defendants first sought costs in the Senior Courts Costs Office, which dismissed the proceedings in 2024 for want of jurisdiction, and then applied for costs in these proceedings by application notice of 11 February 2025.