How not to conduct a Viking raid – Important High Court Guidance on Part 8 or Part 7

The High Court has handed down an important procedural judgment in The Viking Planet (UK) Ltd v Piazza (Camden) Ltd & Anor [2026] EWHC 2166 (Ch), providing valuable guidance on when claims may properly proceed under CPR Part 8. In a dispute arising from an agreement for lease at Camden Market, Michael Green J refused the defendants’ application to transfer the proceedings to Part 7, applying a “robust” approach to transfer applications and holding that the defendants had failed to demonstrate any genuinely substantial dispute of fact.

The decision will be of particular interest to all litigators and dispute resolution practitioners. The Court confirmed that the mere assertion of fact-sensitive issues, including a proposed rectification claim, and waiver, estoppel and damages allegations, will not automatically render Part 8 unsuitable. Emphasising procedural efficiency, the judgment reinforces the courts’ increasingly robust approach to preserving streamlined Part 8 proceedings where factual disputes are limited and can be fairly determined without full Part 7 case management.