A retired Liverpool footballer has been made the subject of an extended civil restraint order after a High Court found his ongoing ‘creativity in pursuing’ litigation against international firm Charles Russell Speechlys goes ‘beyond the norm and…requires some intervention’.
Former Republic of Ireland international Steven Finnan brought a claim for breach of contract and/or negligence against his former solicitors in 2022. He alleged Charles Russell Speechlys had failed to advise him properly in relation to a dispute with his brother in 2016.
His claim was struck out in December 2023, and his appeal dismissed a year later. Permission to bring a second appeal was rejected in April 2025. A further application to reopen his intended appeal was refused in June 2025 and certified as totally without merit.
In Stephen John Finnan v Charles Russell Speechlys LLP, Mr Justice Adam Johnson said Finnan sought to make ‘essentially the same claim against Charles Russell Speechlys, although he has added an expanded description of a proposed case on causation and loss (together with certain other changes)’.
The judge struck out Finnan’s new claim. He found Finnan had not put forward a ‘properly coherent case on causation and loss’ in his original claim and his case had no merit.
’What Stephen seeks to do by means of his new claim is now to advance a more complete position on causation which not only could, but should, have been advanced before in his original action,’ he said.
