The claimant appealed against a strike out of his claim for harrassment after being subjected to five sets of possession proceedings by the defendant, each of which relied upon the same bad point.
Held: The Court refused to strike out a claim for harassment by a tenant who (in the circumstances set out in the judgment) had been the victim of a number of wrongly issued possession proceedings. ‘Actionable statutory harassment under the 1997 Act includes any course of conduct (involving at least two episodes) which objectively cause harm or distress – sections 1,3. This can include the taking of legal proceedings.’ The court emphasised that what might be harrassment was substantially a factual question particular to each situation, and that at a trial, the respondent could yet provide an explanation.
Judges:
Pill LJ, Arden J, Longmore LJ
Citations:
[2008] EWCA Civ 1478
Links:
Statutes:
Protection from Harassment Act 1997 1
Jurisdiction:
England and Wales
Cited by:
Cited – Cheltenham Borough Council v Laird QBD 15-Jun-2009
The council sought damages saying that their former chief executive had not disclosed her history of depressive illness when applying for her job.
Held: The replies were not dishonest as the form could have been misconstrued. The claim failed. . .
Cited – Veakins v Kier Islington Ltd CA 2-Dec-2009
The claimant alleged that her manager at work had harassed her. The court, applying Conn, had found that none of the acts complained of were sufficiently serious to amount to criminal conduct, and had rejected the claim.
Held: The claimant’s . .
Cited – Ferguson v British Gas Trading Ltd CA 10-Feb-2009
Harassment to Criminal Level needed to Convict
The claimant had been a customer of the defendant, but had moved to another supplier. She was then subjected to a constant stream of threatening letters which she could not stop despite re-assurances and complaints. The defendant now appealed . .
Lists of cited by and citing cases may be incomplete.
Torts – Other
Updated: 22 July 2022; Ref: scu.279978