The claimant had brought claims of unfair dismissal, wrongful dismissal and race discrimination. He sought to appeal a case management decision allowing a respondent witness to give evidence but his notice of appeal arrived two minutes after the deadline. He thought this was due to a discrepancy between when he believed he pressed send and when the email actually left his device. The Registrar refused to extend time, and the claimant appealed that refusal.

After reviewing the relevant case law, HHJ Auerbach, accepted the claimant had given an honest, if incomplete, explanation for the delay though by leaving it so late he had taken an unnecessary risk. If this had been the only factor, then the judge said it would have been a finely balanced one decision. However the matter had become academic as subsequent case-management decisions had superseded the original order and, despite the claimant's submissions to the contrary, extending time could make no difference to the outcome.