The two applications were to put the claimant to strict proof of the caution and to strike out their case.
Fred's new McKenzie friend, lets call him the Stig , knows the right way to draft the documents and is going to do it all properly in a way which will be much better than Fred and I did before, so the applications having been traded away is ok.
Nothing else has happened that you're unaware of, and yes you're right Fred had been given permission for his previous amended defence and counterclaim. It's just that the Stig can do a better job, so that's why a new defence and counterclaim are going to be filed. The court is happy because they were able to give back the enormous pile of bundles and a streamlined one willl be filed.