High Court dismisses strike-out bid by Renault and Nissan in Mackie Motors dealer dispute, rejecting Henderson v Henderson abuse-of-process argument
On 17 August 2026, Lance Ashworth KC, sitting as a Deputy Judge of the Chancery Division in the London Circuit Commercial Court, handed down judgment in Mackie Motors (Brechin) Limited v Renault UK Limited, Nissan Motor (GB) Limited and RCI Financial Services Limited ([2026] EWHC 2182 (Comm)). The defendants issued an application on 27 January 2026 seeking either to strike out the claim entirely under CPR r.3.4(2) and/or the court's inherent jurisdiction, or to obtain summary judgment under CPR Part 24. Their core argument was that the claim constituted an abuse of process under the rule in Henderson v Henderson (1843) 3 Hare 100, on the basis that it arose from the same or substantially the same factual matrix and contractual relationships as a previous, unsuccessful claim brought by Mackie Motors, and that the current proceedings were an impermissible attempt to re-litigate matters that could and should have been determined in those earlier proceedings. The application was heard on 20 May 2026, with further written submissions received on 29 May, 1 June and 7 August 2026. Shortly after the hearing, the Court of Appeal handed down judgment in The Winross Partnership v Global Energy Horizons [2026] EWCA Civ 654, which discussed the Henderson v Henderson principles; the judge offered both parties the opportunity to comment on that decision. The judge also considered the Court of Appeal decision in Vince v Associated Newspapers Ltd [2026] EWCA Civ 899, handed down on 15 July 2026, which was drawn to his attention just before he finalised judgment. Jonathan Nash KC and Miss Chloë Bell (instructed by MILS Legal Limited) appeared for the claimant. David Peters KC and Miss Chinmayi Sharma (instructed by Stephenson Harwood LLP) appeared for the defendants.
Why this matters
The Henderson v Henderson rule is one of the most frequently invoked procedural weapons in commercial litigation: defendants use it to dispose of claims at the threshold by arguing the claimant should have raised all related grievances in earlier proceedings. A ruling that rejects the strike-out application confirms that the rule has limits and that courts will scrutinise carefully whether the factual and legal issues in the new claim were truly available and capable of being litigated in the earlier action. The involvement of two Court of Appeal decisions handed down during the course of the application, and the judge's decision to invite further submissions on both, illustrates how actively this area of procedural law is being developed in 2026. For automotive dealership disputes specifically, the case is a reminder that successive claims against manufacturers and their financial services arms can survive preliminary challenge where the pleaded basis is sufficiently distinct.
On the Ground
The matter activates commercial litigation, civil procedure, and automotive sector dispute practices. Solicitors and counsel will be advising dealer clients on whether failed claims preclude follow-on actions, and manufacturer clients on how to frame abuse-of-process applications at the earliest possible stage. Stephenson Harwood acted for the defendants; MILS Legal acted for the claimant. A trainee on this type of matter would assist with disclosure review and categorisation of documents from the previous claim, prepare chronologies of the factual matrix spanning both sets of proceedings, research the current state of the Henderson v Henderson case law (including the two 2026 Court of Appeal decisions cited in the judgment), and help paginate and organise the trial bundle and further written submissions.
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