KB-2024-002315 - [2025] EWHC 1782 (KB)

A court may order summary judgment on a claim, in the defendant’s favour, if (a) the claimant has no real prospect of succeeding on the claim and (b) there is no other compelling reason why the case should be disposed of at a trial: CPR 24.3. A “real prospect” is the converse of a prospect that is merely fanciful or involves an “absence of reality” – it is very well short of a case that is more likely than not to succeed: Swain v Hillman [2001] 1 All ER 91 per Lord Woolf MR at 92j, Three Rivers DC v Bank of England(No.3) [2003] 2 AC 1 per Lord Hobhouse at [158]. It is not appropriate to conduct a “mini-trial” on a summary judgment application – Swain per Lord Woolf MR at 95b. The burden is on the defendant to satisfy the test: Suresh v Samad (No.2)[2017] EWHC 76 (QB) per Warby J at [10(4)].