Gore Wood was estopped by convention from contending that the claims were an abuse of process as both parties had tacitly agreed that such claims could be brought when they entered into the settlement agreement. The Court of Appeal held that there was no estoppel by convention, and that the proceedings were an abuse under the rule in Henderson v Henderson (1843) 3 Hare 100. The Court of Appeal held that just one of Mr Johnson's claims should be struck out for reflective loss. Judgment The leading judgment was given by Lord Bingham, although all five Law Lords gave speeches of varying lengths. Abuse of process Their Lordships considered at some length previous decisions of the English courts in relation to abuse of process, and stressing that the courts strive to find a balance between proper administration of justice and avoiding defendants being vexed by duplicative litigation, and the need to ensure that persons with a proper claim were able to have those claims heard and determined. The court stressed that what was known as "the rule in Henderson v Henderson" had now actually evolved a very long way from the original judgment after which it was named. The rule against abuse of process was similar to rule relating to cause of action estoppel (or res judicata) and issue estoppel, but they were not the same. However both were concerned with the same underlying public interest. The court was reluctant to set down hard and fast rules as to what would amount to abuse of process when claims which might conveniently have been brought at an earlier were only made at a later time. Courts need to be mindful not to confuse the fact that a litigant could have brought his claims at an earlier stage with the proposition that he should have done so. Only in the latter case would it be an abuse of process to subsequently litigate those claims. In this case Mr Johnson had given a number of reasons why he did not pursue his personal claims at an earlier time, including impecuniosity, the availability of legal aid, and personal circumstances. The court indicated that impecuniosity was not normally a good ground, although in this case the impecuniosity was alleged to have been caused by the defendant. The court also noted that Mr Johnson had from a very early stage made clear his intention of bringing