Claimant v HCA International Limited
Outcome
Individual claims
Claims pre-dating 11/10/2023 in the second claim were struck out as vexatious and an abuse of process because the claimant brought a second claim raising matters that could and should have been included in the first claim by amendment, causing duplication and inconsistency.
Claims pre-dating 11/10/2023 in the second claim were struck out as vexatious and an abuse of process because the claimant brought a second claim raising matters that could and should have been included in the first claim by amendment, causing duplication and inconsistency.
Claims pre-dating 11/10/2023 in the second claim were struck out as vexatious and an abuse of process because the claimant brought a second claim raising matters that could and should have been included in the first claim by amendment, causing duplication and inconsistency.
Claims pre-dating 11/10/2023 in the second claim were struck out as vexatious and an abuse of process because the claimant brought a second claim raising matters that could and should have been included in the first claim by amendment, causing duplication and inconsistency. Tribunal noted no comprehensible cause of action was pleaded.
Victimisation claims relating to post-1/4/2023 detriment were permitted to proceed, and the claimant may rely on claimed protected acts prior to 1/4/2023 in support of those claims, as there was no good reason to preclude the tribunal from considering those earlier protected acts.
Facts
The claimant brought two separate tribunal claims against HCA International Limited. The first claim (December 2023) covered disability discrimination from 1 April to 11 October 2023, expressly excluding earlier matters as background only. The second claim (February 2024) added race discrimination, unfair dismissal, and whistleblowing claims, and included inconsistent and expanded allegations covering both before and after 11 October 2023, overlapping substantially with the first claim but with material differences and new averments. The claimant is a litigant in person with mental health issues, assisted by a Spanish/English interpreter.
Decision
The tribunal struck out as vexatious and an abuse of process any claims and allegations in the second claim that pre-dated 11 October 2025 [sic - should be 2023]. The tribunal found the claimant had deliberately chosen to exclude pre-April 2023 matters from the first claim, then changed his mind without applying to amend. By bringing a second claim with overlapping but inconsistent allegations, he wasted tribunal resources and subjected the respondents to disproportionate inconvenience. An exception was made for claimed protected acts prior to 1 April 2023 relied upon for post-1 April 2023 victimisation claims.
Practical note
Bringing a second claim that duplicates or inconsistently re-pleads matters that could and should have been raised in a first claim by amendment will likely be struck out as an abuse of process, following the principles in Henderson v Henderson and Szucs v Greensquareaccord.
Legal authorities cited
Case details
- Case number
- 2307676/2023
- Decision date
- 14 August 2025
- Hearing type
- preliminary
- Hearing days
- 2
- Classification
- contested
Respondent
- Sector
- healthcare
- Represented
- Yes
- Rep type
- barrister
Claimant representation
- Represented
- No