Lombard Bank Ltd v Alliance & Leicester Plc

Date

29 October 2001

Legislation

Trade Mark Rules r. 55

Keywords

Registry; witnesses; cross-examination

Counsel

Michael Edenborough, Guy Tritton

Reported

[2002] RPC 29

Court

Chancery Division

Solicitors

Denton Wilde Sapte, Marks & Clerk

Judge

Ferris J

Summary

Lombard, an opponent to Alliance's application for registration of a trade mark, appealed against a decision of the Hearing Officer refusing permission to cross-examine.

In view of the fact that any appeal from a decision of a Hearing Officer was a true appeal in the nature of a review rather than a rehearing (South Cone v Bessant [2003] RPC 5), and that further evidence would not normally be permitted to be adduced, it was important that the Hearing Officer fulfilled his function as the tribunal of fact.

The true test was not whether cross-examination would be positively beneficial, but rather that if a party desired to test the other side's evidence in cross-examination, then prima facie and within reason he should be allowed to do so. Thus cross-examination might reasonably be refused where the evidence in question manifestly gets nowhere, but it is not a sufficient reason to refuse cross-examination that the tribunal can make up its mind without it.

Decision

Accordingly the appeal was allowed.