Colleagues,

Does anyone have a useful or vaguely groovy definition of the above? I am drafting a pro-forma for late appeals to go to the LQPM (assuming the DM does not play ball). Here is something I found on the web, although it does not concern social security:

“Land Securities Group PLC v Judicial Review of a decision by North Lanarkshire Council on 11.5.2005 <2005> COSH 116”:

‘…Assessing the prospects of success in litigation is an art and because of the uncertainties of litigation the assessment is usually imprecise. Lawyers may have different views as to the meaning of the phrase "reasonable prospects of success". I interpret the phrase as meaning that the chances of success are in excess of fifty per cent or at worst are somewhere in a range not far from fifty per cent.

In my opinion the phrase "no reasonable prospects of success" has a stronger meaning than merely that the prospects are not reasonable in the sense which I have described. To me it means that there is a considerably lower chance of success ranging from an assessment that a case is bound to fail to a one in four or, at most, a one in three chance of success…’

Apologies if this has already been thrashed out before,

Steve

Mon 20-Oct-08 01:11 PM by iut044

Well my experience is that in practice "reasonable prospects of success" is interpreted by the respondent and the tribunal service as they will let the late appeal commence as long as the evidence is not overwhelming against the appealant. I have never had a late appeal refused.

I do not know if this is the same in other areas.

I have a standard paragraph I use at the end of the appeal letter, which, after outlining the substantive issues, goes:

“In order for a late appeal to be admitted a claimant does not have to show that the case has real prospects of success but merely reasonable prospects of success, a much lower threshold, which, we submit, is highly arguable given the circumstances. If it is conceded that the case is at least arguable then it obviously has reasonable prospects of success”.

Feel free to use if it suits.

That seems to resonate with thew bit of case law I found - thanks!

Long wordy legalistic submissions on this point are telling the Tribunal what they know - don't annoy them!

I too have almost never known an application for a late appeal to be refused, as long as ther is anything approaching a reason for the delay.