Whether the particular facts of a case amount to an accident is a question of law. In a case of disputed facts under s2(2) of the 1967 Act it is for the jury to decide the facts and apply to the facts found the judge’s direction as to the meaning of accident.Lord Widgery CJ:’We would … Continue reading Regina v Morris: 1972
The defendant defended a charge of driving with excess alcohol, saying that he had only driven a short distance, and that there were special circumstances; Held: The circumstances surrounding the respondent’s actions did not amount to a special reason. Lord Widgery CJ distinguished James v Hall by finding that in that case, the offender had … Continue reading Coombs v Kehoe: 1972
Where land is on the face of it private land, the prosecutor accusing the defendant of driving on a public road, must establish the fact of public access, as here in relation to the forecourt of a private members club. Citations: [1972] RTR 286 Jurisdiction: England and Wales Cited by: Cited – Harriot v Director … Continue reading Pugh v Knipe: 1972
A traffic summons had to be served within 14 days and it was sent by registered post on the fourteenth day, so that in the normal course of post it would not have arrived until after the 14 days had elapsed. The prosecution sought to rely upon the deeming provision in Schedule 4. Held: The … Continue reading Nicholson v Tapp: 1972
A motorist was suspected of driving under the influence of alcohol and was required to provide a specimen of breath. He claimed that he had consumed alcohol only a few minutes earlier and the constable had to wait until 20 minutes had elapsed before administering a breath test. Meanwhile the appellant consumed more alcohol supplied … Continue reading Dibble v Ingleton: 1972
If the approval of the litigation friend is required and it appears that the litigation friend is acting unreasonably in withholding his consent, steps can be taken to remove him and appoint another litigation friend in his place. Citations: [1972] 2 QB 369 Jurisdiction: England and Wales Cited by: Cited – Bailey v Warre CA … Continue reading Re Taylor’s Application: 1972
The defendant appealed a conviction for using a vehicle, which had been adapted for stock car racing, without insurance. He did not give evidence, but he was present and he admitted that he was the owner of the vehicle. Held: The court allowed his appeal because there was no evidence that the actual driver of … Continue reading Crawford v Haughton: QBD 1972
A motorcyclist crashed into the rear of a lorry stationary on the carriageway. The plaintff said that the parking of the lorry was a nuisance, and that if it had not been so parked, there would have been no accident. Held: The appeal failed. The accident was due wholly to the negligence of the motorcyclist. … Continue reading Dymond v Pearce: CA 13 Jan 1972
The plaintiff had been badly injured and was not expected to live long. When his claim for damages was almost ready for trial, his lawyers requested an adjournment. It was not possible for a live plaintiff to claim damages for his ‘lost years’. They realised that, if judgment were to be given before he died, … Continue reading Murray v Shuter: CA 1972
The defendant had been convicted of knowingly living on the earnings of prostitution contrary to section 30(1) of the Sexual Offences Act 1956. Held: The Commission rejected as manifestly ill-founded the applicant’s challenge to this provision as incompatible with article 6(2). It created a rebuttable presumption which the defendant could disprove, and was not a … Continue reading X v United Kingdom: ECHR 1972
The House gave guidance how it would treat an invitation to depart from a previous decision of the House. Such a course was possible, but the direction was not an ‘open sesame’ for a differently constituted committee to prefer their views to those of the committee which determined the decision unanimously or by a majority. … Continue reading Practice Statement (Judicial Precedent): HL 1966
The House considered whether it would have power to make a ruling with prospective effect only. Lord Diplock said the matter deserved further consideration; Lord Simon said that the possibility of prospective overruling should be seriously . .
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When a driver suffers an obligatory disqualification through a drink driving offence, the court may not at the same time impose on his licence additional penalty points for offences associated with the events of the drink driving offence. The 1988 Act was a consolidating act, and was not to be construed so as to change … Continue reading Martin v Director of Public Prosecutions: QBD 30 Nov 1999
The court considered the admissibility of evidence produced by a prescribed device for measuring breath alcohol levels. Held: The record (the printout from a Lion Intoximeter device) was admissible either under the statutory provision without the necessity of calling any witness to produce it or as real evidence, if produced by someone who was able … Continue reading Garner v Director of Public Prosecutions: 1990
The insured had failed to disclose an earlier drink driving conviction on applying for insurance over five years later. The insurers refused cover on an accident. The plaintiff said that the conviction was spent under the 1974 Act. The endorsement remained ‘effective’ on his licence for 11 years should he be convicted again. The court … Continue reading Power v Provincial Insurance: CA 18 Feb 1997
A motorcyclist appealed against his conviction for having overtaken a line of vehicles driving down the outside of dashed white lines, only returning to the nearside when the lines became solid. He said that there was no white arrow painted to indicate the requirement to return to the nearside. Held: The signage did not meet … Continue reading O’Halloran v Director of Public Prosections: 1989
The respondent, was a passenger in a motor car who was injured in an accident. He raised an action of damages against the driver, the appellant, who had been convicted of an offence under the Road Traffic Act 1972. The men had been drinking together in public houses for most of the day and when … Continue reading Winnik v Dick: 1984
The defendant was stopped pushing a motor-cycle along the road. It had been adapted for scrambling, and the registration plates lights and speedometer had been removed. He argued that it was no longer a motor vehicle ‘adapted or intended for use on a public road’. The prosecutor appealed against the magistrates finding that they had … Continue reading Chief Constable of Avon and Somerset Constabulary v Fleming: QBD 1987
The defendant appealed against his conviction for driving with excess alcohol. He had wanted to bring his own expert evidence. At the roadside, he had failed fully to inflate the device. Held: The trial court had been entitled to be satisfied of the defendant’s guilt on the evidence as a whole. It included not only … Continue reading Lomas v Bowler: 1984
The driver left an accident. The police entered his home unlawfully, and on his refusal to supply a breath test, he was arrested and charged with faiing to supply. Held: A lawful arrest is not an essential requirement before a breath test, and there was no general principle that there could be no conviction under … Continue reading Fox v Chief Constable of Gwent: HL 1986
The police adduced in evidence against the defendant the analysis of a specimen of breath which was not the specimen required under the Act. Held: The evidence of the analysis of the specimen relied on by the police was inadmissible in evidence. The Act lays down a procedure for requiring a suspected motorist to provide … Continue reading Howard v Hallett: QBD 1984
A specimen of blood was required at one police station but provided at another. Held: The request was validly made. Citations: [1981] 1 WLR 1061 Statutes: Road Traffic Act 1972 9 Jurisdiction: England and Wales Citing: Disapproved – Butler v Easton QBD 1970 The initial formalities of a request for a specimen of blood from … Continue reading Pascoe v Nicholson: HL 1981
The court discussed the power of a constable to stop a driver. Held: Provided the officer was acting in good faith the statutory powers given to him he need have no grounds for stopping a driver. Nothing in the section required the prosecutor to show that a constable in uniform acting in the execution of … Continue reading Beard v Wood: 1980
The motorist defendant had been required to provide a laboratory test specimen, under section 9(1). He filled one-third of a two-pint container at 2:15 am. A constable disposed of that pursuant to section 9(6) and the container was washed out. A police sergeant who had been present throughout informed the defendant to indicate when he … Continue reading Regina v Musker: 1985
The LCJ considered an argument that the officer had not complied with the requirement that a defendant to be requested to provide two specimens within one hour of the request. He said: ‘The reference to two specimens of urine, I think, is explained in this way. It is an accepted medical fact that a specimen … Continue reading Roney v Matthews: QBD 1975
The motorist who had been arrested and required to provide a laboratory test specimen under what was then section 9, under which it was for him to choose to provide a specimen of either blood or urine. He decided to provide two specimens of urine within the hour. He was taken to the lavatory by … Continue reading Prosser v Dickeson: QBD 1982
The driver had a minor accident reversing out of his drive. He was unaware of it. A few hours later, he was interviewed by a police officer, but the officer gave him neither oral or written warning pursuant to section 179(a) of the 1972 Act that he might be prosecuted. Four days later he was … Continue reading Bentley v Dickinson: QBD 1983
In the absence of malpractice, oppression, caprice or opprobrious behaviour, there is no restriction on the stopping of motorists by a police officer in the execution of his duty and subsequent requirement of a breath test if the officer then and there genuinely suspects the ingestion of alcohol.Lloyd LJ said: ‘The word ‘malpractice’, as it … Continue reading Chief Constable of Gwent v Dash: 1986
The offence in section 5 does not require proof that a defendant is likely to drive when accused of being in charge of a motor vehicle whilst unfit through drink or drugs: ‘In regard to that section two broad propositions are clear. First, the offence of being ‘in charge’ is the lowest in the scale … Continue reading Director of Public Prosecutions v Watkins: QBD 1989
The defendant believed that a driver was the holder of a driving licence and permitted him to use the vehicle, when the driver was not in fact such a holder. The prosecutor appealed his acquittal. Held: Considering Newbury v Davis. The justices did not find that he imposed a condition on the use of the … Continue reading Baugh v Crago: QBD 1975
The defendant had used his car to chase some people who had assaulted him and had so manoeuvred his car as to prevent their escape. The statutory defence in the 1967 Act (‘a person may use such force as is reasonable in the circumstances . . in effecting or assisting in the lawful arrest of … Continue reading Regina v Renouf: CACD 1986
The defendant, convicted of causing death by reckless driving contrary asked the House to reconsider its decision in Lawrence on which the trial judge’s jury direction had been based. Held: Lawrence remained good. (Lord Keith) ‘where the driver acted under some understandable and excusable mistake or where his capacity to appreciate risks was adversely affected … Continue reading Regina v Reid: HL 1992
The defendant had ridden a motor-cycle and hit a pedestrian. The court asked whether he had been reckless. Held: The House understood recklessness as ‘a state of mind stopping short of deliberate intention, and going beyond mere inadvertence’ and ‘It is for the jury to decide whether the risk created by the manner in which … Continue reading Regina v Lawrence (Stephen): HL 1981
The appellant had been stopped, taken to a police station and required to provide two specimens of breath for analysis. After he provided the second, the device indicated that it was not functioning normally, so the officer could not say that he had been provided by the defendant with two specimens of breath which had … Continue reading Denny v Director of Public Prosecutions: QBD 1990
Where magistrates considered an offence for which a driving ban was discretionary, they were entitled at that stage to take account of the driving record, even though they knew they would have to take that same record into account when considering a totting up ban. There was no double jeopardy, since the two systems considered … Continue reading Jones v Director of Public Prosecutions: QBD 20 Oct 2000
The claimant sought damages against the police for assault, wrongful arrest, false imprisonment and malicious prosecution arising from an arrest for a suspected drink-driving offence. He was acquitted of charges of assaulting a police officer in the execution of his duty and failing to give a sample under the Road Traffic Act 1972. The police … Continue reading Dickinson v Yates: CA 27 Nov 1986
The defendant provided two specimens of breath through an intoximeter 3000. Though the machine appeared to be working otherwise properly, the two readings were wider apart than usual. Held: Each reading was still in excess of the maximum, and expert evidence was to the effect that the blood alcohol level exceeded the maximum. The prosecutor’s … Continue reading Gordon v Thorpe: QBD 1986
The defendant had been arrested for driving whilst unfit through drink. He was warned three hours later that he might be prosecuted for reckless driving. In fact he was not charged with any offence relating to drink. When tried for reckless driving he argued no case to answer because he had not been warned ‘at … Continue reading Regina v Stacey: CA 1982
In the procedure for giving two specimens of urine at a police station to test for driving over the prescribed limit, it does not matter that the first specimen was of any particular quantity. It therefore follows that, provided two specimens are given, it does not matter whether there is any particular gap in time … Continue reading Regina v Radcliffe: CACD 1977
The defendant lorry driver was interviewed to discover his involvement in a road traffic accident in whch damage was caused to a stationery vehicle. He said that he had been unaware of any such collision, though he had been driving at that location at the time. Having given no evidence, he now appealed against his … Continue reading Selby v Chief Constable of Avon and Somerset: QBD 1988
Griffiths LJ discussed the lawfulness of a police officer’s stopping of a motorist, and said: ‘It should, however, be stated that the police officer was acting within the execution of his duty by virtue of his power at common law and not by virtue of any power contained in section 159 of the Road Traffic … Continue reading Steel v Goacher: QBD 1985
The owner of a vehicle agreed to lend it to someone else on condition that that person insured against third party risks. In the owner’s absence, that person drove the car on a road without insurance. Held: The appeal against conviction was allowed: ‘the defendant did not permit Mr Jarvis to use the car. The … Continue reading Newbury v Davis: QBD 1974
What makes a road a Road? The Court was asked whether a Road was a ‘road’ for the purposes of the 1984 Act’ Held: It has often been said that the public access mentioned in the definition of ‘road’ must be both actual access and legal or lawful access. However, simple reference to a requirement … Continue reading Bowen and Others v Isle of Wight Council: ChD 3 Dec 2021
The defendant appealed against his conviction for reckless driving. He said the offence was committed out of necessity, since his passenger’s life was under threat. Held: Necessity can only be a defence to a charge of reckless driving where the facts establish ‘duress of circumstances’ . . where the defendant was constrained by circumstances to … Continue reading Regina v Conway: CACD 28 Jul 1988
Employers were alleged to have caused or permitted an employee to drive a vehicle on the road while not holding a driving licence authorising him to do so. When the employee had entered the employment, the employers had ensured that he held a valid driving licence but it was not their practice to check thereafter … Continue reading Ferrymasters Ltd v Adams: 1980
The Commissioner had been wrong to conclude that he could not bring prosecutions in respect of driving on a certain road because it was not a ‘road’ within the definition of the Road Traffic Act 1972. Having observed that ‘[c]ounsel and solicitors in magistrates’ courts, in the Divisional Court and in the Crown Courts can … Continue reading Adams v Commissioner of Police of the Metropolis: QBD 1980
A 15-year old (Deacon or Deakin) who drove a motor car on a Council housing estate was charged with offences of driving a vehicle on a road A road in a housing estate, used only by those who resided in the estate or the visitors, and not by the public generally was held not to … Continue reading Deacon v AT (a minor): QBD 1976
Motoring offences under the 1972 Act were alleged. Justices dismissed the charges on the ground that the driving had not been proved to be on a ‘road’ within the statutory definition. Held: The prosecutor’s appeal succeeded. the Divisional Court remitted the case to the justices to clarify their findings of fact and their reasoning. Kilner … Continue reading Cox v White: QBD 1976
The plaintiff sought damages after being injured as a passenger in a car. He and the driver had both just been involved in a burglary, and the driver, who had taken alcohol was attempting to escape. The driver was driving very dangerously in order to avoid their arrest after two taxi drivers had tried to … Continue reading Ashton v Turner: QBD 1981
The pursuer sought damages after her husband’s death from lung cancer. She said that the defenders were negligent in having continued to sell him cigarettes knowing that they would cause this. Held: The action failed. The plaintiff had not proved that the smoking of cigarettes was the cause of the lung cancer, and it was … Continue reading McTear v Imperial Tobacco Ltd: OHCS 31 May 2005
The applicant held a heavy goods vehicle licence. He became diabetic. The licensing authority refused to renew his licence. He appealed.
Held: The justices had used the wrong test, saying he could not be said not to be likeley to suffer a . .
A husband and wife crossed a road. The wife, appreciating that the danger from the traffic, ran across. The husband stood in the middle of the road and then went ahead, but was struck by a vehicle and injured. He was significantly affected by alcohol, and evidence had been led at the trial indicating the … Continue reading Liddell v Middleton: CA 17 Jul 1995
The section in the 1967Act required as a precondition to a request for a breath specimen that an accident had occurred. The defendant complained that this was an issue of fact, but had been decided by the deputy chairman and not the jury. Held: The appeal succeeded. Lord Widgery CJ said: ‘The issue whether there … Continue reading Regina v Seward: 1970
The House was asked whether the Ministry of Defence was entitled to cone off a section of the A814 road without the permission of the roads authority under the Roads (Scotland) Act 1984 or the local planning authority under the Town and Country Planning (Scotland) Act 1972. Held: Before the Acts of Union, Scots law … Continue reading Lord Advocate v Dumbarton District Council: HL 1989
Appeals were brought complaining as to the apparent reversal of the burden of proof in road traffic cases and in cases under the Terrorism Acts. Was a legal or an evidential burden placed on a defendant? Held: Lord Bingham of Cornhill said: ‘The overriding concern is that a trial should be fair, and the presumption … Continue reading Sheldrake v Director of Public Prosecutions; Attorney General’s Reference No 4 of 2002: HL 14 Oct 2004
The parties had married, but the male partner was a transsexual, having been born female and having undergone treatment for Gender Identity Dysphoria. After IVF treatment, the couple had a child. As the marriage broke down the truth was revealed in court, but the plaintiff said that his wife had known the true position. He … Continue reading J v S T (Formerly J): CA 21 Nov 1996
The defendant appealed his conviction for obtaining property by deception where part of the offence had taken place abroad. Held: Smith should be overturned. The last act or terminatory theory remains the binding common law of England and Wales. The correct rule was that before an English court could try an offence it was necessary, … Continue reading Regina v Manning: CACD 24 Jun 1998
The DPP appealed a finding of special reasons for not disqualifying the defendant after finding him guilty of driving with excess alcohol. He had been stopped driving at excess speed, he had driven over a mile and had a further two hundred yards to drive, and had driven through the centre of Congleton. He pointed … Continue reading Director of Public Prosecutions v Conroy: Admn 23 Jun 2003
The House considered the unexplained fact that in the temporary absence of the teacher (who, on the evidence, was not negligent) it was possible for a child of four to wander from the school premises onto the highway, through a gate which was either open or very easy for him to open, was held to … Continue reading Carmarthenshire County Council v Lewis: HL 17 Feb 1955
The defendant appealed by case stated against a conviction for driving a lorry without due care and attention, leading to the death of another road user. There had been an unexplained swing of the rear of his trailer out into the path of the other vehicle. Held: It was plainly open to the magistrates to … Continue reading Bingham, Regina (on the Application of) v Director of Public Prosecutions: Admn 7 Feb 2003
Judges: Lady Justice Black Citations: [2010] EWCA Civ 818, [2011] RTR 17 Links: Bailii Statutes: Local Government Act 1972 222 Jurisdiction: England and Wales Road Traffic Updated: 14 August 2022; Ref: scu.440700
The driver appealed against his conviction for speeding, saying that he had not been given the requisite notice within the 14 days required: ‘The notice of intended prosecution had been sent to him by first class ordinary post in circumstances where he would ordinarily have been expected to receive it in 14 days, but in … Continue reading Gidden v Chief Constable of Humberside: Admn 29 Oct 2009
The defendant appealed aganst his conviction for conspiracy to engage in moneylaundering. At trial he pleaded guilty subject to a qualification that he had not known that the money was the proceeds of crime, though he may have suspected that it would be. Held: (Baroness Hale of Richmond dissenting) The appeal succeeded: ‘the Crown’s principal … Continue reading Saik, Regina v: HL 3 May 2006
Bridge LJ considered the meaning of the word ‘accident’, and, after saying that there had been many authorities for different stautory and contractual contexts, said: ‘It is, in my judgment, a word which has a perfectly well understood meaning in ordinary parlance, but that meaning is an elastic one according to the context in which … Continue reading Chief Constable of West Midlands Police v Billingham: 1979
(The Bahamas) The US government sought the extradition of the appellant from the Bahamas on drugs charges. The warrants were found to be void, and the defendant released unconditionally, when the nmagistrate rejected evidence from an admitted co-conspirator. It was then said thet the respondent had no right of appeal against a grant of habeas … Continue reading Gibson v United States of America: PC 23 Jul 2007
The claimants had been detained under the 1971 Act, after completing sentences of imprisonment pending their return to their home countries under deportations recommended by the judges at trial, or chosen by the respondent. They challenged as unlawful the respondent’s, at first unpublished, policy introduced in 2006, that by default, those awaiting deportation should be … Continue reading Lumba (WL) v Secretary of State for The Home Department: SC 23 Mar 2011
The defendant appealed his conviction for dangerous driving. The failure of the police to serve him with a notice of intended prosecution invalidated the conviction. The police replied that there was no need for such a notice because there had been an accident. The driver had been stopped but had then driven off. A police … Continue reading Currie, Regina v: CACD 26 Apr 2007
The claimant had been injured in a road traffic accident for which the defendant was responsible in negligence. The defendant was not insured, and so a claim was to be made against the MIB. The plaintiff issued proceedings just before the expiry of the period, but failed to give first the requisite formal notice to … Continue reading Horton v Sadler and Another: HL 14 Jun 2006
The claimant had been severely injured in a road traffic accident. His claim was compromised and embodied in a court order, but later a question was raised as to whether he had had mental capacity at the time to make the compromise he had. Held: The term ‘patient’ in this context had a meaning specific … Continue reading Bailey v Warre: CA 7 Feb 2006
The prosecutor appealed dismissal of the charge of driving a heavy commercial vehicle on a road which was subject to a maximum weight restriction in breach of the 1984 Act. The company denied that it had any knowledge of the actual route taken by its driver. Held: The offence involved use by the employer when … Continue reading Cambridgeshire County Council v Associated Lead Mills Ltd: ChD 22 Jul 2005
It was alleged that evidence had been obtained by police oppression. She had at first refused to answer questions, but an officer talked to her during a break between interviews, telling her that her lover had been having an affair. The circumstances caused the appellant severe distress, and she made admissions in the following interview. … Continue reading Regina v Fulling: CACD 1987
The applicant sought review of a decision to remove him from a witness protection scheme within the prison. He claimed that having been promised protection, he had a legitimate expectation of protection, having been told he would receive protection while he was in prison. He had not eventually been relied upon as a witness. Held: … Continue reading Bloggs 61, Regina (on the Application of) v Secretary of State for the Home Department: CA 18 Jun 2003
A van was stopped carrying a delivery of coal. The insurance was for social domestic and pleasure purposes only. The owner appealed a conviction for using it without insurance. Held: ‘using’ when the description of the offence in connection includes alternatives of causing and permitting is to have a restricted meaning. There was not evidence … Continue reading Jones v Director of Public Prosecutions: Admn 26 Mar 1998
The defendant, prosecuted for a minor driving offence of driving without due care and attention, did not receive the information of intended prosecution within 14 days as the statute required. He appeal by case stated. Held: Schedule 4 to the Road Traffic Act 1962 expressly provided that the notice would be deemed to have been … Continue reading Groome v Driscoll: QBD 1969
Blackmail was alleged under section 21 of the 1968 Act, the letter making the unwarranted demand with menaces having been posted from England to an intended victim in Germany. Held: The appeal was dismissed. To allow an English court to have jurisdiction where elements of the offence occurred abroad, the last act constituting the actus … Continue reading Treacy v Director of Public Prosecutions: HL 1970
The court distinguished between obstructions of a highway and dangers created on it. Lord Denning MR asked: ‘How are we to determine whether a state of affairs in or near a highway is a danger?’ and answered ‘This depends, I think, on whether injury may reasonably be foreseen. If you take all the cases in … Continue reading Morton v Weaver: CA 31 Jan 1956
The claimant appealed against refusal of an application for judicial review in turn of a refusal to allow private prosecutions of Tony Blair, Jack Straw and Lord Goldsmith in respect of their involvement in the war in Iraq, and the alleged crime of aggression. Held: The international crime of aggression was established but it remained … Continue reading Al Rabbat v Westminster Magistrates’ Court: Admn 31 Jul 2017
Humphrys was charged with driving while disqualified. The issue was the correctness of the identification by a police constable. In evidence, Humphrys denied that he was the driver, or indeed that he had driven any car during the year in question. He was acquitted. Later he was charged with perjury said to arise from his … Continue reading Director of Public Prosecutions v Humphrys: HL 1977
The asylum applicant challenged a certificate given by the respondent that the claim for asylum was manifestly ill-founded. The respondent had made a mistake in applying the appropriate policy, but had sought to correct the error. The claimants asserted that a legitimate expectation had been created. Held: The abiding principle which underpins the legitimate expectation … Continue reading Regina (Nadarajah) v Secretary of State for the Home Department; Abdi v Secretary of State for the Home Department: CA 22 Nov 2005
A statement made by a politician as to his intentions on a particular matter if elected could not create a legitimate expectation as regards the delivery of the promise after elected, even where the promise would directly affect individuals, and the costs of a child’s education. Any consequences of a failure to keep a promise … Continue reading Regina v Department of Education and Employment ex parte Begbie: CA 20 Aug 1999
The driver had crashed into the insured’s building causing substantial damage. The court was asked which of the driver’s and building’s insurers should bear the costs. The driver’s insurers said that he had acted deliberately and therefore they were not liable. Though they might even so be liable through the Motor Insurers Bureau, the provisions … Continue reading Bristol Alliance Ltd v Williams and Another: QBD 1 Jul 2011
Capacity for Litigation The claimant appealed against dismissal of his claims. He had earlier settled a claim for damages, but now sought to re-open it, and to claim in negligence against his former solicitors, saying that he had not had sufficient mental capacity at the time to accept the offer. Held: There is no definition … Continue reading Masterman-Lister v Brutton and Co, Jewell and Home Counties Dairies (No 1): CA 19 Dec 2002
The claimants were children of the victim of a road traffic accident. The solicitors were conducting a claim on his behalf for damages, but when he died, they negligently discontinued the action. Held: The claimants’ action as dependants of the deceased arose only on his death, and so the action of the defendants gave rise … Continue reading Reader and others v Molesworths Bright Clegg Solicitors: CA 2 Mar 2007
The Court was concerned with a traditional road traffic accident in which a pedestrian was injured by a moving car. A question arose as to the admissibility of an expert. Held: Stuart-Smith LJ stated of the test of admissibility laid down in the 1972 Act: ‘But that section in no way extends the principles upon … Continue reading Liddell v Middleton: CA 1996
Motorcyclist negligent without helmet The plaintiff sought damages after an accident. The defendant car driver had negligently moved forward into the path of the plaintiff motor cyclist who was injured. The defendant argued that the plaintiff, a motorcyclist, was contributorily negligent in not wearing a crash helmet. Held: Once the court had established that the … Continue reading O’Connell v Jackson: CA 7 Jul 1971
The defendant appealed against his conviction under the 1889 Act for making a corrupt gift to a local government officer. He said that the 1916 Act placed an unfair burden on him to prove that the gift was not corruptly given. Held: The appeal succeeded. Article 6.2 does not provide an absolute prohibition against the … Continue reading Webster v Regina: CACD 1 Dec 2010
The court set down the conditions for the award of exemplary damages. There are two categories. The first is where there has been oppressive or arbitrary conduct by a defendant. Cases in the second category are those in which the defendant’s conduct has been calculated by him to make a profit for himself which may … Continue reading Rookes v Barnard (No 1): HL 21 Jan 1964
The court asked what reduction if any should be made to a plaintiff’s damages where injuries were caused not only by the defendant’s negligent driving but also by the failure of the plaintiff to wear a seat belt. It had been submitted that, since the defendant was not responsible for the failure of the plaintiff … Continue reading Froom v Butcher: CA 21 Jul 1975
The couple had decided on a suicide pact. They made repeated attempts, resulting in his death. Property had been held in joint names. The deceased’s father asked the court to apply the 1982 Act to disentitle Miss Plant. Held: The appeal was allowed, and relief against forfeiture was given. Mummery LJ said: ‘the presence of … Continue reading Dunbar (As Administrator of Tony Dunbar Deceased) v Plant: CA 23 Jul 1997
The defendants appealed against convictions for using threatening, abusive or insulting words or behaviour or disorderly behaviour . . within the hearing or sight of a person likely to be caused harassment, alarm or distress. He had attended a parade celebrating the return of an army regiment from Afghanistan, but had demonstrated against the war. … Continue reading Abdul and Others v Director of Public Prosecutions: Admn 16 Feb 2011
The court set out the circumstances in which, in the absense of an explanation, the only proper inference is careless driving.Lord Parker CJ said ‘the facts of a particular case may be such that, in the absence of some explanation the only possible inference is careless driving’ Lord Parker CJ [1971] RTR 228, [1972] CLR … Continue reading Wright v Wenlock: 1971
The claimant, displaced from the Chagos Archipelago, challenged a decision by the respondent to create a no-take Marine Protected Area arround the island which would make life there impossible if he and others returned. The respondent renewed his objection to the use of leaked materials, saying that this would be a breach of the Official … Continue reading Bancoult, Regina (on The Application of) v Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs: Admn 11 Jun 2013
Lost Earnings claim Continues after Death The claimant, suffering from mesothelioma, had claimed against his employers and won, but his claim for loss of earnings consequent upon his anticipated premature death was not allowed. He began an appeal, but then died. His personal representatives appealed. Held: The House assumed that, because the claimant had brought … Continue reading Pickett v British Rail Engineering: HL 2 Nov 1978
No Legal Duty to Assist a Constable At common law there is no legal duty to provide the police with information or otherwise to assist them with their inquiries. Lord Parker set out three questions to be answered when asking whether there had been an obstruction of an officer in the execution of his duties: … Continue reading Rice v Connolly: 1966
The claimant hired a car whilst his own, damaged by the defendant, was being repaired. His insurer sought to recover the cost from the other driver. The insurer had first arranged te hire with one company, but then another provided a finacial reward . .
The defendant had been in a road traffic accident. The police came to his house to investigate the accident, but he refused to unlock the door to allow them entry. Stating reliance on section 4 of the 1988 Act, the officers threatened to force . .
The 1988 Act gave the local authority the power to undertake a prosecution for the offence of driving without insurance as regards those for whom it had regulatory and licensing responsibilities as hackney carriage drivers. The power to act for the . .
