A plaintiff, injured in a motor accident, was seeking to recover damages for loss of profit.
Held: The court commented adversely on the evidence and stated that no figures were given, and that counsel for the defendant had force in his observation that ‘as no other man was engaged (that is to replace the plaintiff in his job when he was unable to do it) it is irrelevant to consider what would have happened if he had been, for, so far from producing a drop in profitability, his engagement might equally well have led to a realisation of that 10 per cent increase which Mr Boulter assumed would have enured but for the accident.’ In other words, it might well have been that he would not have suffered any loss at all . . . ‘So approaching the matter, the unsatisfactory conclusion to which I have felt myself driven is that, while the probability is that some loss of profitability resulted from the plaintiff’s accident it is quite impossible to quantify it.’
Judges:
Davies, Edmund Davies and Stamp LJJ
Citations:
[1971] 1 WLR 1731, [1971] 3 All ER 1208
Jurisdiction:
England and Wales
Cited by:
Cited – Alger, Brownless and Court Copyservices Limited v Thakrar Trading As Thakrar and Co (a Firm) CA 15-Jan-1999
The defendant firm of solicitors signed a lease of a photocopier, but claimed to have agreed oral terms which contradicted those set out in the document they signed.
Held: The judge was entitled to make his assessment of the witnesses as he . .
Cited – Moeliker v Reyrolle and Co Ltd CA 1976
The court considered the principles for the award of damages for future loss of earning capacity.
Held: The court distinguished between an award for loss of earnings and compensation for loss of earning capacity. The latter head of damage . .
Cited – Phillips v Holliday and Another CA 6-Jul-2001
The claimant was injured when scaffolding on which he was working collapsed. The defendants appealed the awards for loss of future earnings. The claimant was self-employed working through a limited company controlled by his wife. His past earnings . .
Lists of cited by and citing cases may be incomplete.
Damages, Personal Injury
Updated: 30 April 2022; Ref: scu.199277