Cheekiest Legal Argument of the Year

As part of my ongoing quest to find the cheekiest legal argument of the year (see bulletin 18/5/07), the second contender is the employer in Cummings v Scholarest.

The Claimant presented an equal pay claim to the employment tribunal with an equal pay claim. Her solicitor misspelled her name on the ET1 as Mrs W.E. Cummings (it should have been Mrs W.E. Cowings). The Claimant, who had worked for the employer for 30 years, set out her place of work and address correctly.

The employer applied to strike out the claim on the basis that the Claim Form did not correctly identify the Claimant. The employment tribunal granted the application.

Quashing the decision, the EAT made it clear that there was a power to amend the name of the Claimant, and sent the case back to a different chairman with a clear steer to make a finding that it was just and equitable to allow the Claimant to amend her name on the ET1.

(any other contributions for 'cheekiest legal argument of the year' gratefully received)