Is summary judgment worth the gamble?

Andy Green  thought he had won £1,722,923.54 online in January 2018 playing a Betfred blackjack game on his phone.

Betfred argue there was a software error and its terms and conditions mean it is not liable to make the payment.

Mr Green has taken the case to court and we understand that he has made an application for summary judgment which is being heard by the High Court in October. An application for summary judgment can be a high-risk strategy because it will be necessary to satisfy the judge that Betfred has no real prospect of successfully defending its position at a full trial. Given there will not be a chance for a full examination of the evidence at a summary judgment application, we understand that to be successful, Mr Green will have to convince the judge that he would win taking into account Betfred’s case as it's been presented to the Court; namely that the blackjack game malfunctioned in some way. In other words, Mr Green will be arguing that it is open to the judge to decide the case in Mr Green’s favour based on legal arguments regarding the proper interpretation of the terms and conditions. We understand Mr Green will be arguing that on their proper construction, the relevant terms do not allow for Betfred to withhold payment if the alleged glitch is as a result of a third party’s software error and not in Betfred’s own software. It remains to be seen if the judge will agree and Mr Green receives his “winnings”.

If this application is lost, however, Mr Green will not lose his right to a full trial, at which point evidence of the alleged glitch is likely to be before the court in full. Making an application for summary judgment can be an effective way of resolving a case at an early stage. However, given the higher threshold and the fact the other side is given the benefit of the doubt on evidential issues, it is often not worth the gamble unless you are confident you have a strong case on legal arguments alone.