Two dogs have failed in their attempt to sue Shoosmiths and its client, HSBC.

Goldie, Diamond, their owner Sabrina Moosun and her two infant children made a claim for £5.5 million after Moosun stopped paying her mortgage and her cottage was repossesed by HSBC and auctioned for £285,000. Their claim form stated that the law firm and the bank had caused losses and suffering which "words would not be able to describe", and did not provide particulars.

Ruling on Shoosmiths' application to strike out the claim, Mr Justice Snowden said that he agreed with Shoosmith's counsel that dogs were incapable of bringing legal proceedings. "I cannot see how a dog could give instructions", said Snowden, noting that the Civil Procedure Rules define a claimant as a person, "and a dog is not a person". He added that there were lots of other good reasons why dogs could not bring court proceedings, and the involvement of Moosun's pets showed that she was labouring under a "considerable" misapprehension.

    "Oh no Diamond! That judge is trapped down a well - we must get help!"

"If only we could, Goldie. If only we could."


Snowden said Moosun had made a dozen other applications, all without merit, in which she had insisted that she was the victim of a conspiracy of "satanic freemasons" and that her cottage was in fact a five-bedroom house worth £1.3 million. "The long and tortured history of the litigation", said Snowden, "indicates very forcibly that Mrs. Moosun is a litigant who is simply not prepared to take "no" for an answer". As a result, Snowden not only struck out her pets' claim, but imposed a general civil restraint order on Moosun which requires her to apply to a judge on paper for permission to bring any proceedings in the County or High Court.

Goldie and Diamond, who did not attend the hearing, were not made subject to the order and are considering their options.
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Comments

Anonymous 20 November 15 11:24

Diamond and Goldie must surely appeal. You wouldn't expect them to roll over would you?

Anonymous 24 November 15 17:55

I hear that the dogs are quite capable of giving instruction, they bark orders. Judgment should have been defured.