Practice – Civil litigation. The shareholders of three companies (the companies) brought three unfair prejudice petitions against the respondents, under s 994 of the Companies Act 2006. The petitioners applied for final relief on their petitions on the basis that the respondents had failed to comply with an order requiring them to answer the request for information. The respondents applied for relief against sanctions under CPR Part 3.9. The Companies Court held that, subject to considering the relief from sanctions application and consequent on the failure to comply with an order of the court, the amended points of defence stood struck out. There had been no, or no sufficient, explanation of the reasons for the delay and considerations, which bore on the need for litigation to be conducted efficiently and at proportionate cost, and the importance of compliance with court orders, pointed in only one direction: refusal of the application for relief in relation to the present matter.