Civil claims for injury and losses arising out of the Grenfell Tower fire

Susan Rodway QC, Shaman Kapoor and Emma Corkill represent 87 claimants in their civil claims for injury and losses arising out of the tragic fire at Grenfell Tower, London which led to the death of 72 people.  Instructed by Bishop Lloyd and Jackson Solicitors ("BLJ"), the claims have been issued against the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea ("RBKC") and The Tenant Management Organisation ("TMO") that between them owned and operated Grenfell Tower.

Together with all other known Grenfell proceedings, the claims were consolidated solely for a Case Management Conference which took place on Wednesday 7 July 2021 at which Susan and Shaman attended.

More than 1100 claimants were represented at the hearing by 22 different firms of solicitors representing claimants who have been bereaved, those that survived, those that were residents, those that were visitors, and those that were emergency responders.  The defendants across all proceedings were represented by a further 16 different firms of solicitors and the lawyers involved required 3 Court Rooms for in person attendance as well as remote link.

All parties – except for the BLJ claimants – had agreed to a stay for 9 months.  Facing claims of being an "outlier", "splinter group" and "lone voice", Susan articulated that the BLJ claims should not be delayed and that they were ready to issue their Particulars of Claim so that we could all find out how RBKC and TMO seek to defend the indefensible given their total refusal to make a formal admission of liability.  The Court granted a stay except to allow the BLJ claimants to serve their Particulars of Claim by 31 August 2021.