A High Court judge dismisses an appeal by ex-players over case orders, warning their brain injury claims could be thrown out for disclosure failures
LAWYERS for hundreds of former rugby players have lost a High Court appeal against case management orders in a major brain injury lawsuit.
The players, both professional and amateur, allege governing bodies failed to protect them from neurological conditions caused by repeated head impacts.
They claim World Rugby, the Welsh Rugby Union, the Rugby Football Union, the Rugby Football League and the British Amateur Rugby League Association breached their duty of care.
The claimants say they suffer from early onset dementia, Parkinson’s disease, epilepsy and motor neurone disease as a result.
Each of the defending rugby bodies denies any wrongdoing.
At a hearing last month, the players’ legal team appealed against orders related to providing comprehensive medical records.
Non-compliance with these orders could lead to the entire group litigation being struck out.
In a written judgement on Monday, Justice Dexter Dias dismissed the claimants’ appeals.
He ruled that the original case management orders were “well within the generous margin of his discretion”.
Justice Dias stated he could not accept the decision was “unreasonable or perverse”, as argued by the claimants’ lawyer Susan Rodway.
The judge expressed concern over “a serious erosion of the confidence the court could safely place” in how disclosure had been handled.
Rodway had previously likened obtaining all medical records to a fairy tale task of “mowing vast meadows using only nail scissors”.
Justice Dias said this comparison “both misunderstands and exaggerates the task” required by the court.
He clarified that claimants could explain if records were unavailable or apply for extensions if facing genuine difficulties.
Law firm Rylands Garth, representing the ex-players, said it was grateful for the “greater clarity” provided by the ruling.
The firm noted it had already disclosed “hundreds of thousands of pages of documents” to support the case.
It accused the defendants of never formally responding to the claims and attempting to hold up the court process.
In a joint statement, World Rugby, the RFU and the WRU said they noted the dismissal of the appeal.
The bodies highlighted the judge’s concern over the disclosure process and said effective disclosure was “indispensable”.
They stated that many players now risk having their claims struck out due to these disclosure failures.
The governing bodies reiterated that player welfare remains a “central priority” and they “shall not stand still in this space”.
