Category: Damages

B Hargreaves Ltd v Action 2000 Ltd: CA 15 Feb 1993

A builder was sued for damages, and sought to set off against the damages claimed an as yet unquantified cross claim which was dependent upon a valuation to be carried out, that claim was insufficiently certain or ascertained to permit it to be used by way of set off.

Citations:

Ind Summary 15-Feb-1993

Jurisdiction:

England and Wales

Damages, Construction

Updated: 26 October 2022; Ref: scu.78040

Smith v London Borough of Haringey: QBD 18 Mar 2021

The Claimant seeks damages for personal injury arising from a workplace incident when the Claimant was assaulted by a service user with learning difficulties in a facility operated by the Defendant. Liability has now been agreed on the basis that the Claimant will receive 75% of damages to which she is entitled. This is the assessment of damages hearing.

Judges:

Cook M

Citations:

[2021] EWHC 615 (QB)

Links:

Bailii

Jurisdiction:

England and Wales

Personal Injury, Damages

Updated: 26 October 2022; Ref: scu.660819

Vibixa Ltd, Polestar Jowetts Ltd v Komori UK Ltd and Another, Spectral Technology Ltd: CA 9 May 2006

The claimants sought damages for damage to property alleging breach of statutory duty. The defendant said that the regulations were made under European not English law, and that the Secretary of State did not have power to make regulations under the 1974 Act which would give rise to a right to damages. The regulations had been made in exercise of his powers under the 1972 Act and ‘of all his other enabling powers’.
Held: The question could be put: ‘Do general enabling words cover, as the appellants say, all the powers that might have been invoked to make the SI or are they apt to denote only the powers that must necessarily be utilised if the SI is to take effect according to the terms in which it is enacted? ‘ General enabling words will not be taken as an exercise of all powers which might have been used to create the regulations. They do refer to an enabling power not expressly invoked where that power was a necessary prerequisite of the regulations, where the instrument itself is clear that the power must have been used and where it is necessary to ensure compliance with European law. On this basis the regulations had not been made under the 1974 Act, and in any event such regulations could not base a claim for consequential damages.

Judges:

Lady Justice Arden DBE Lord Justice Brooke Sir Anthony Clarke MR

Citations:

Times 30-May-2006, [2006] EWCA Civ 536, [2006] 1 WLR 2472

Links:

Bailii

Statutes:

Supply of Machinery (Safety) Regulations 1992 (SI 1992 No. 3073), Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974 15(1), European Communities Act 1972 82(2), Interpretation Act 1978 11

Jurisdiction:

England and Wales

Citing:

Cited – Buck v Attorney General ChD 1965
The claimant challenged the validity of an order in council. The order used general enabling words, not expressly stating which power had been used for their creation.
Held: The result of those general enabling words was that the order was . .
Cited – Buck v Attorney General CA 2-Jan-1965
By an action for declaratory relief, a challenge was offered to the validity of the Order in Council giving effect to the 1961 Act.
Held: The appeal failed. As a matter of international comity an English court should not grant declarations . .
Cited – Revenue and Customs v IDT Card Services Ireland Ltd CA 27-Jan-2006
Under the Marleasing principle, or principle of conforming interpretation, the domestic court of a member state must interpret its national law so far as possible in the light of the wording and purpose of the Directive in question. However this . .
Cited – Marleasing SA v La Comercial Internacional de Alimentacion SA ECJ 13-Nov-1990
Sympathetic construction of national legislation
LMA OVIEDO sought a declaration that the contracts setting up Commercial International were void (a nullity) since they had been drawn up in order to defraud creditors. Commercial International relied on an EC . .
Cited – Regina v Bristol Magistrates Court and others ex parte Junttan Oy HL 23-Oct-2003
The improper use of machinery had resulted in the death of an employee, and the applicant was prosecuted under the 1974 Act, but complained that the prosecution should have been under the Regulations. The directive required member states to apply . .
Cited – Three Rivers District Council and Others v Governor and Company of The Bank of England (No 3) HL 22-Mar-2001
Misfeasance in Public Office – Recklessness
The bank sought to strike out the claim alleging misfeasance in public office in having failed to regulate the failed bank, BCCI.
Held: Misfeasance in public office might occur not only when a company officer acted to injure a party, but also . .
Cited – Commission v Germany (Rec 1991,P I-825) (Judgment) ECJ 28-Feb-1991
Europa Measures adopted by the Community institutions – Directives – Implementation by the Member States – Implementation of a directive without legislative action – Conditions – Existence of a general legal . .
Lists of cited by and citing cases may be incomplete.

Health and Safety, Damages, Litigation Practice, European

Updated: 25 October 2022; Ref: scu.241574

Campbell v Frisbee: ChD 14 Mar 2002

The defendant appealed a summary judgement on the claimant’s claim with respect to her alleged disclosure of details Miss Campbell’s private life. The claimant sought an action for account of profits for breach of the terms of a contract of service. The defendant claimed that a violent assault by the claimant on her was a repudiation of the contract. There were some issues which must go to trial, but the claimant obtained judgement on those matters relating to her private life.
Held: To defeat an application for summary judgment the respondent must show some ‘real prospect’ of success, even if improbable. Would the obligation of confidence be discharged by a repudiation? Restrictive covenants had been considered before, but not obligations of confidence. The Photo Production case established that not all obligations were defeated by a repudiation. The obligation of confidence survived any repudiation. The defendant argued that the restriction restricted her right of free speech. Here there was no overwhelming public interest argument. There was no prospect of success on this point and the appeal failed.

Judges:

The Hon Mr Justice Lightman

Citations:

[2002] EWHC 328 (Ch)

Links:

Bailii

Statutes:

Civil Procedure Rules 24.2, European Convention on Human Rights

Jurisdiction:

England and Wales

Citing:

Cited – Three Rivers District Council and Others v Governor and Company of The Bank of England (No 3) HL 22-Mar-2001
Misfeasance in Public Office – Recklessness
The bank sought to strike out the claim alleging misfeasance in public office in having failed to regulate the failed bank, BCCI.
Held: Misfeasance in public office might occur not only when a company officer acted to injure a party, but also . .
Doubted – General Billposting Company Limited v Atkinson HL 1908
The employers had dismissed their employee manager ‘in deliberate disregard of the terms of the contract’ in such a way as ‘to evince an intention no longer to be bound by the contract.’ The manager had successfully brought an action for wrongful . .
Cited – Photo Production Ltd v Securicor Transport Ltd HL 14-Feb-1980
Interpretation of Exclusion Clauses
The plaintiffs had contracted with the defendants for the provision of a night patrol service for their factory. The perils the parties had in mind were fire and theft. A patrol man deliberately lit a fire which burned down the factory. It was an . .

Cited by:

Appeal from – Frisbee v Campbell CA 14-Oct-2002
The claimant sought an account against her former employee for the disclosures made by her of their activities. The respondent had signed a confidentiality agreement. The respondent counterclaimed for assault. She now appealed from dismissal of her . .
Lists of cited by and citing cases may be incomplete.

Employment, Damages, Information, Civil Procedure Rules, Human Rights

Updated: 25 October 2022; Ref: scu.169987

The Secretary of State for Transport v Christos, Christos: CA 25 Jul 2003

Judges:

Lord Justice Mummery Lord Justice Sedley The Vice-Chancellor

Citations:

[2003] EWCA Civ 1073

Links:

Bailii

Statutes:

Channel Tunnel Rail Link Act 1996

Jurisdiction:

England and Wales

Cited by:

See Also – Christos and Another v Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions LT 11-Nov-2003
LT COMPULSORY PURCHASE – Compensation – dwellinghouse and adjoining land – whether property value agreed – whether acquiring authority estopped from denying that the value is the ‘agreed’ figure – whether damage . .
Lists of cited by and citing cases may be incomplete.

Land, Damages

Updated: 24 October 2022; Ref: scu.184864

Zabihi v Janzemini and others: ChD 28 Nov 2008

The claimant sought the return of jewellery of substantial value. The defendants said that they had been returned or sold and accounted for.
Held: The court must do its best on such evidence as it feels able to accept to place some kind of value on the loss suffered.

Judges:

Blackburne J

Citations:

[2008] EWHC 2910 (Ch)

Links:

Bailii

Jurisdiction:

England and Wales

Cited by:

Appeal from – Zabihi v Janzemini and Others CA 30-Jul-2009
The claimant said that he had left valuable jewelry with the defendant for sale. The defendant said at first they had been stolen, but then returned jewelry which the claimant denied was what had been left. The defendant appealed a finding that he . .
Cited – Thwaytes v Sotheby’s ChD 16-Jan-2015
The claimant had sold a painting through the defendant auctioneers. He sought damages after it was certified to be an original rather than copy Caravaggio painting, and worth very substantially more. . .
Lists of cited by and citing cases may be incomplete.

Torts – Other, Damages

Updated: 23 October 2022; Ref: scu.278312

Barrow v Cosignia Plc: CA 18 Feb 2003

‘While the case demonstrates confusion about principles, both of pleading and of the law of causation, it raises no issue of general, or indeed any, interest other than to the parties, and I hope that no-one will bother to report it. ‘

Judges:

Lord Phillips MR

Citations:

[2003] EWCA Civ 249

Links:

Bailii

Jurisdiction:

England and Wales

Personal Injury, Damages

Updated: 23 October 2022; Ref: scu.181119

Filobake Ltd v Rondo Ltd and Another: CA 11 May 2005

Unsuitability of baking equipment installation. A claimant in a breach of contract claim has a choice whether to claim loss of profits or wasted expenditure.

Citations:

[2005] EWCA Civ 563

Links:

Bailii

Jurisdiction:

England and Wales

Citing:

At First Instance – Filobake Ltd v Rondo Ltd and Another TCC 21-Apr-2004
. .
Leave – Filobake Ltd v Rondo Ltd and Another CA 9-Jul-2004
. .

Cited by:

Cited – Parker and Another v SJ Berwin and Co and Another QBD 17-Dec-2008
The claimants sought damages from their former solicitors. They set out to purchase a football club, expending substantial sums for the purpose, relying on the defendants’ promised provision of service in finding and arranging the funding. They said . .
Cited – Omak Maritime Ltd v Mamola Challenger Shipping Co Ltd ComC 4-Aug-2010
Lost Expenses as Damages for Contract Breach
The court was asked as to the basis in law of the principle allowing a contracting party to claim, as damages for breach, expenditure which has been wasted as a result of a breach. The charterer had been in breach of the contract but the owner had . .
Lists of cited by and citing cases may be incomplete.

Contract, Damages

Updated: 21 October 2022; Ref: scu.224839

Fair v London and North Western Rly Co: QBD 1869

In actions for personal injuries, the court is constantly required to form an estimate of chances and risks which cannot be determined with anything like precision; for example, the possibility that the injury will improve, or deteriorate, or the possibility of improved earnings if the accident had not occurred.
The necessity that the damages should be full and adequate was stressed, though perfect compensation for injuries suffered is not possible.

Citations:

21 LT 326, (1869) 18 WR 66

Jurisdiction:

England and Wales

Cited by:

Cited – Dryden and Others v Johnson Matthey Plc SC 21-Mar-2018
Sensitisation to salt can be personal injury
The claimants, had developed platinum salt sensitisation due to the defendant employer’s breach of health and safety regulations and common law duty, claimed a cause of action for personal injury. Platinum salt sensitisation is, in itself, an . .
Lists of cited by and citing cases may be incomplete.

Personal Injury, Damages

Updated: 20 October 2022; Ref: scu.660783

Pell Frischmann Engineering Ltd v Bow Valley Iran Ltd and Others: PC 26 Nov 2009

(From the Court of Appeal of Jersey) Lord Walker reviewed the principles in awarding damages under Lord Cairns Act, setting out five general principles established by the authorities. They included: ‘1. Damages (often termed ‘user damage’) are readily awarded at common law for the invasion of rights to tangible moveable or immoveable property (by detinue, conversion or trespass).
2 . .
3. Damages under Lord Cairns’s Act are intended to provide compensation for the court’s decision not to grant equitable relief in the form of an order for specific performance or an injunction in cases where the court has jurisdiction to entertain an application for such relief. Most of the recent cases are concerned with the invasion of property rights such as excessive user of a right of way. The breach of a restrictive covenant is also generally regarded as the invasion of a property right . . since a restrictive covenant is akin to a negative easement . . the decision of the House of Lords in Blake decisively covers what their Lordships have referred to as a non-proprietary breach of contract.
4. Damages under this head (termed ‘negotiating damages’ by Neuberger LJ in Lunn Poly) represent ‘such a sum of money as might reasonably have been demanded by [the claimant] from [the defendant] as a quid pro quo for [permitting the continuation of the breach of covenant or other invasion of right].
5. Although damages under Lord Cairns’s Act are awarded in lieu of an injunction it is not necessary that an injunction should actually have been claimed in the proceedings, or that there should have been any prospect, on the facts, of it being granted.’
Lord Walker added: ‘ Several of the recent cases have explored the nature of the hypothetical negotiation called for in the assessment of Wrotham Park damages. It is a negotiation between a willing buyer (the contract-breaker) and a willing seller (the party claiming damages) in which the subject-matter of the negotiation is the release of the relevant contractual obligation. Both parties are to be assumed to act reasonably. The fact that one or both parties would in practice have refused to make a deal is therefore to be ignored.’

Judges:

Lord Phillips, Lord Rodger, Lord Walker, Lord Mance, Lord Clarke

Citations:

[2009] UKPC 45, [2010] Bus LR 73, [2011] 1 WLR 2370, [2011] Bus LR D1

Links:

Bailii

Jurisdiction:

England and Wales

Cited by:

Cited – Star Energy Weald Basin Ltd and Another v Bocardo Sa SC 28-Jul-2010
The defendant had obtained a licence to extract oil from its land. In order to do so it had to drill out and deep under the Bocardo’s land. No damage at all was caused to B’s land at or near the surface. B claimed in trespass for damages. It now . .
Cited – Star Energy Weald Basin Ltd and Another v Bocardo Sa SC 28-Jul-2010
The defendant had obtained a licence to extract oil from its land. In order to do so it had to drill out and deep under the Bocardo’s land. No damage at all was caused to B’s land at or near the surface. B claimed in trespass for damages. It now . .
Cited – 32Red Plc v WHG (International) Ltd and Others ChD 12-Apr-2013
The court had found trade mark infringement by the defendant and now considered the quantification of damages. . .
Cited – 32Red Plc v WHG (International) Ltd and Others ChD 12-Apr-2013
The court had found trade mark infringement by the defendant and now considered the quantification of damages. . .
Cited – Morris-Garner and Another v One Step (Support) Ltd SC 18-Apr-2018
The Court was asked in what circumstances can damages for breach of contract be assessed by reference to the sum that the claimant could hypothetically have received in return for releasing the defendant from the obligation which he failed to . .
Lists of cited by and citing cases may be incomplete.

Damages, Torts – Other

Updated: 19 October 2022; Ref: scu.381559

Liverpool and Lancashire Properties Limited and Another v Lunn Poly Ltd and Another: CA 15 Mar 2006

Where a tenant successfully obtained relief from forfeiture, and compensatory damages were payable under the 1858 Act in lieu of an injunction, and had assigned the lease for a profit the court could exceptionally use its equitable jurisdiction to either revalue the property at a different date, or direct that a specific post-valuation event must be allowed for, so as to ensure that any windfall was taken into account.
Neuberger LJ said: ‘Given that negotiating damages under [Lord Cairns’] Act are meant to be compensatory, and are normally to be assessed or valued at the date of breach, principle and consistency indicate that post-valuation events are normally irrelevant; but, given the quasi-equitable nature of such damages, the judge may, where there are good reasons, direct a departure from the norm either by selecting a different valuation date or by directing that a specific post-valuation date event be taken into account’.

Judges:

Auld, Scott Baker, Neuberger LJJ

Citations:

Times 18-Apr-2006, [2006] EWCA Civ 430, [2006] 25 EG 210, [2006] 12 EG 222, [2007] L and TR 6, [2006] 2 EGLR 29

Links:

Bailii

Statutes:

Chancery Amendment Act 1858

Jurisdiction:

England and Wales

Cited by:

Cited – Tamares (Vincent Square) Ltd. v Fairpoint Properties (Vincent Square) Ltd ChD 8-Feb-2007
The defendant had been found liable for infringing the claimant’s right of light. The court considered the proper measure of damages.
Held: The court should ask what might be the fair result of a hypothetical negiation for the sale of the . .
Cited – Star Energy Weald Basin Ltd and Another v Bocardo Sa SC 28-Jul-2010
The defendant had obtained a licence to extract oil from its land. In order to do so it had to drill out and deep under the Bocardo’s land. No damage at all was caused to B’s land at or near the surface. B claimed in trespass for damages. It now . .
Cited – 32Red Plc v WHG (International) Ltd and Others ChD 12-Apr-2013
The court had found trade mark infringement by the defendant and now considered the quantification of damages. . .
Cited – Morris-Garner and Another v One Step (Support) Ltd SC 18-Apr-2018
The Court was asked in what circumstances can damages for breach of contract be assessed by reference to the sum that the claimant could hypothetically have received in return for releasing the defendant from the obligation which he failed to . .
Lists of cited by and citing cases may be incomplete.

Landlord and Tenant, Damages

Updated: 19 October 2022; Ref: scu.240431

Welford and others v EDF Energy Networks (LPN) Ltd: CA 3 Apr 2007

The landowner sought compensation under the 1989 Act after being required to grant a wayleave to the defendants. The court was asked whether a claim could properly include compensation for loss of profits or whether such damages would be too remote.
Held: Where the compensation already included a sum for the diminution in value of the land, it would be too remote to award also separate compensation for loss of profit from disturbance.

Judges:

Chadwick LJ, Scott Baker LJ, Thomas LJ

Citations:

Times 08-May-2007, [2007] EWCA Civ 293, [2007] Bus LR D63

Links:

Bailii

Statutes:

Electricity Act 1989

Jurisdiction:

England and Wales

Utilities, Damages

Updated: 17 October 2022; Ref: scu.250694

Gregg v Scott: CA 29 Oct 2002

The claimant sought damages. He had a lymphoma, but despite his seeking medical assistance, it was not diagnosed early, and his life expectancy was diminished.
Held: In order to claim damages for a reduced life expectancy, the claimant had to show that the negligence contributed to the loss. Here, the claimant’s disease had a poor prognosis in any event, and he had not been able to show that any actual damage had been caused. The case fell squarely within Hotson, and the claim failed.

Judges:

Simon Brown, Mance, Latham LLJ

Citations:

Times 04-Nov-2002, Gazette 12-Dec-2002, Gazette 19-Dec-2002, [2002] EWCA Civ 1471

Links:

Bailii

Jurisdiction:

England and Wales

Citing:

Cited – Hotson v East Berkshire Health Authority HL 2-Jul-1988
The claimant (then 13) fell twelve feet in climbing a tree and sustained an acute traumatic fracture of the left femoral epiphysis. At hospital, his injury was not correctly diagnosed or treated for five days, and he went on to suffer a vascular . .
Appealed to – Gregg v Scott HL 27-Jan-2005
The patient saw his doctor and complained about a lump under his arm. The doctor failed to diagnose cancer. It was nine months before treatment was begun. The claimant sought damages for the reduction in his prospects of disease-free survival for . .

Cited by:

Cited – Coudert Brothers v Normans Bay Limited (Formerly Illingworth, Morris Limited) CA 27-Feb-2004
The respondent had lost its investment in a Russian development, and the appellants challenged a finding that they had been negligent in their advice with regard to the offer documents.
Held: As to the basis of calculation of damages as to a . .
Appeal from – Gregg v Scott HL 27-Jan-2005
The patient saw his doctor and complained about a lump under his arm. The doctor failed to diagnose cancer. It was nine months before treatment was begun. The claimant sought damages for the reduction in his prospects of disease-free survival for . .
Lists of cited by and citing cases may be incomplete.

Damages, Professional Negligence, Personal Injury

Updated: 17 October 2022; Ref: scu.177848

R+V Versicherung Ag v Risk Insurance and Reinsurance Solutions Sa and others (No 4): ComC 10 Jul 2006

Judges:

Tomlinson J

Citations:

[2006] EWHC 1705 (Comm)

Links:

Bailii

Jurisdiction:

England and Wales

Citing:

See Also – R+V Versicherung Ag v Risk Insurance and Reinsurance Solutions Sa and others ComC 27-Jan-2006
It had held that the defendant insurance intermediaries were liable to the claimants, a German reinsurance company, because of a conspiracy to defraud the claimants on the part of one of the defendants’ employees. The court had to decide issues of . .
See Also – R+V Versicherung AG v Risk Insurance and Reinsurance Solutions SA, Reass France SARL, Reass SARL, Risk Insurance and Reinsurance Solutions Ltd ComC 18-Nov-2004
. .

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. . .
Lists of cited by and citing cases may be incomplete.

Damages

Updated: 14 October 2022; Ref: scu.243075

Sunderland City Council v Brennan and Others: EAT 2 May 2012

EAT PRACTICE AND PROCEDURE – Contribution
PRACTICE AND PROCEDURE – Disclosure
(1) An employment tribunal has no jurisdiction to determine claims for contribution under the Civil Liability (Contribution) Act 1978 between persons jointly or concurrently liable for damage caused by an act of unlawful discrimination. Nor in any event does the 1978 Act create such a right as between such persons.
(2) The employment tribunal had been entitled to order the Claimants to disclose the settlement agreement between them and one set of respondents as being relevant to the issue between them and the remaining respondents, inasmuch as any sums recoverable under the settlement from the former would fall to be taken into account if they were to succeed and were entitled to compensation against the latter.

Judges:

Underhill J P

Citations:

[2012] UKEAT 0286 – 11 – 0205

Links:

Bailii

Statutes:

Civil Liability (Contribution) Act 1978, Equal Pay Act 1970, Sex Discrimination Act 1975 6, Employment Tribunal Rules of Procedure, Law Reform (Married Women and Tortfeasors) Act 1935 6(1)( c), Law Reform (Miscellaneous Provisions) (Scotland) Act 1940 3

Jurisdiction:

England and Wales

Citing:

Cited – Bury Metropolitan Borough Council v Hamilton and Others EAT 28-Jan-2011
bury_hamiltonEAT11
EAT EQUAL PAY – Material factor defence and justification
BONUS CLAIMS (both appeals)
Equal pay claims by female local authority employees to the benefit of bonus paid to male colleagues under . .
Cited – Royal Brompton Hospital National Health Service Trust v Hammond and others HL 25-Apr-2002
The claimants sought damages against the defendants for their late delivery of a building. The contractors sought to share the damages with the architects who had certified the delays, defeating their own claims.
Held: The Act sought to extend . .
Cited – Bullimore v Pothecary Witham Weld etc EAT 21-Sep-2010
EAT SEX DISCRIMINATION – COMPENSATION
H, a partner in a firm of solicitors, PWW, by whose predecessor C had previously been employed gave an unfavourable reference to another firm, S, with whom she was . .
Cited – London Borough of Hackney v Sivanandan and Others EAT 27-May-2011
EAT RACE DISCRIMINATION – Compensation
SEX DISCRIMINATION – Compensation
APPEAL
Council and a charity both supplied members to a recruitment panel which victimised the Claimant – Tribunal makes . .
Cited – Charles Scott and Partners Consulting Engineers Ltd v Hamilton EAT 9-Aug-2011
EAT Redundancy : Fairness – Redundancy dismissal. Failure to consult but meetings with employee subsequent to decision to dismiss. Decision on appeal taken by same persons as had decided to dismiss, namely all . .
See Also – Brennan and others v Sunderland City Council Unison GMB EAT 16-Dec-2008
No Waiver for disclosure of Advice
EAT PRACTICE AND PROCEDURE: Admissibility of evidence
The claimant sought disclosure of certain legal advice on the basis that its effect, and a summary of its contents, had been put before the court and . .
See Also – Council of The City of Sunderland v Brennan and Others CA 3-Apr-2012
Equal pay claim – Whether difference in pay due to material factor other than sex . .

Cited by:

See Also – Sunderland City Council v Brennan and Others EAT 2-May-2012
EAT PRACTICE AND PROCEDURE – Contribution
PRACTICE AND PROCEDURE – Disclosure
(1) An employment tribunal has no jurisdiction to determine claims for contribution under the Civil Liability . .
Lists of cited by and citing cases may be incomplete.

Employment, Discrimination, Damages

Updated: 13 October 2022; Ref: scu.454097

Fruhling v Schroeder: 1835

An action for money had and received can recover only the original sum.

Citations:

(1835) 2 Bing (NC) 78

Jurisdiction:

England and Wales

Cited by:

Cited – Sempra Metals Ltd v Inland Revenue Commissioners and Another HL 18-Jul-2007
The parties agreed that damages were payable in an action for restitution, but the sum depended upon to a calculation of interest. They disputed whether such interest should be calculated on a simple or compound basis. The company sought compound . .
Lists of cited by and citing cases may be incomplete.

Damages

Updated: 11 October 2022; Ref: scu.260127

Whittington Hospital NHS Trust v XX: SC 1 Apr 2020

A negligent delay in the diagnosis of her cancer left the clamant dependent on paid for surrogacy arrangements. Three issues were raised; could damages to fund surrogacy arrangements using the claimant’s own eggs be recovered? Second, if so, could damages to fund arrangements using donor eggs be recovered? Third, in either event, could damages to fund the cost of commercial surrogacy arrangements in a country where this was not unlawful be recovered?
Held: The Court answered; yes, yes, and yes.
Under UK law, surrogacy arrangements are completely unenforceable; the surrogate mother is always the child’s legal parent unless and until a court makes a ‘parental order’ transferring legal parenthood to the commissioning parents; and the making of surrogacy arrangements on a commercial basis is banned. However, offences can only be committed in the UK, and nothing stops agencies based abroad from making surrogacy arrangements on a commercial basis abroad.
The chances of an own egg surrogacy being successful were reasonable, and she had delayed cancer treatment for treatment, and its reasonable costs were recoverable. Things had changed since Briody.
On the third question, Lord Carnwath dissenting, though a UK court will not enforce a contract in breach of public policy most items under the US contract would be recoverable here.

Judges:

Lady Hale, Lord Reed, Lord Kerr, Lord Wilson, Lord Carnwath

Citations:

[2020] UKSC 14, [2020] WLR(D) 207, [2020] 4 All ER 93, [2020] PIQR P12, [2021] AC 275, (2020) 174 BMLR 1, [2020] Med LR 209, [2020] 2 WLR 972, UKSC 2019/0013

Links:

Bailii, Bailii Summary, WLRD, Bailii Summary, SC, SC Summary, SC Summary Video, SC 2019 Dec 16 am Video, SC 2019 Dec 16 pm Video, SC 2019 Dec 17 am video

Statutes:

Surrogacy Arrangements Act 1985 2(1)

Jurisdiction:

England and Wales

Citing:

Cited – XX v Whittington Hospital NHS Trust QBD 18-Sep-2017
The defendant Trust admitted a failure to diagnose cancer in the claimant. As a result of the necessary treatment, she became infertile. An earlier treatment might have avoided this. She now sought damages, inter alia for losses associated with the . .
Appeal from – XX v Whittington Hospital NHS Trust CA 19-Dec-2018
The defendant had failed to diagnose cancer in the claimant. The court was now asked whether the judge was correct in law to refuse (or limit) Ms X’s recovery of damages for expenses of surrogacy arrangements which she intended to make, either in . .
Refusal of Leave – XX v Whittington Hospital NHS Trust (Leave) CA 19-Dec-2018
Refusal of permission to appeal to Supreme Court . .
Not Current – Briody v St Helens and Knowlsey Area Health Authority CA 29-Jun-2001
The appellant had claimed and been awarded damages for a negligently performed caesarean operation. She had been refused damages for the cost of later going to California to go through a commercial surrogacy procedure.
Held: Such claims were . .
Cited – Z (A Child) (No 2) FD 20-May-2016
Application for parental order by one person.
Otherwise In re Z (Surrogate Father: Parental Order) (No 2) . .
Cited – Livingstone v Rawyards Coal Co HL 13-Feb-1880
Damages or removal of coal under land
User damages were awarded for the unauthorised removal of coal from beneath the appellant’s land, even though the site was too small for the appellant to have mined the coal himself. The appellant was also awarded damages for the damage done to the . .
Cited – In re Q (Parental Order) 1996
In a foreign surrogacy agreement, payments other than reasonable expenses could be authorised retrospectively, after they had been made . .
Cited – MacFarlane and Another v Tayside Health Board HL 21-Oct-1999
Child born after vasectomy – Damages Limited
Despite a vasectomy, Mr MacFarlane fathered a child, and he and his wife sought damages for the cost of care and otherwise of the child. He appealed a rejection of his claim.
Held: The doctor undertakes a duty of care in regard to the . .
Cited – In re P and Others, (Adoption: Unmarried couple) (Northern Ireland); In re G HL 18-Jun-2008
The applicants complained that as an unmarried couple they had been excluded from consideration as adopters.
Held: Northern Ireland legislation had not moved in the same way as it had for other jurisdictions within the UK. The greater . .
Cited – AB (Surrogacy: Consent), Re FC 25-Oct-2016
Both the surrogate and her husband refused to agree to the order even though they had handed over the child to the commissioning parents. All the court could do was make a child arrangements order which gave them parental responsibility but left the . .
Cited – In re X and Y (Foreign Surrogacy) FD 9-Dec-2008
The court considered the approval required for an order under the 2002 Act.
Held: Welfare considerations were important but not paramount: ‘Given the permanent nature of the order under s.30, it seems reasonable that the court should adopt the . .
Cited – Patel v Mirza SC 20-Jul-2016
The claimant advanced funds to the respondent for him to invest in a bank of which the claimant had insider knowledge. In fact the defendant did not invest the funds, the knowledge was incorrect. The defendant however did not return the sums . .
Cited – A and Another v C and Another FC 11-Jul-2016
Reasons for making parental orders – children aged 12 and 13 . .
Cited – In re X (A Child) (Surrogacy: Time Limit) FD 3-Oct-2014
Extension of Time for Parental Order
The court considered the making of a parental order in respect of a child through surrogacy procedures outside the time limits imposed by the 2008 Act. The child had been born under Indian surrogacy laws. The commissioning parents (now the . .
Cited – In re X (A Child) (Surrogacy: Time Limit) FD 3-Oct-2014
Extension of Time for Parental Order
The court considered the making of a parental order in respect of a child through surrogacy procedures outside the time limits imposed by the 2008 Act. The child had been born under Indian surrogacy laws. The commissioning parents (now the . .
Cited – Rousillon v Rousillon ChD 23-Feb-1880
Fry J considered Copin v Adamson as authority for the view that the foreign court would have jurisdiction where the judgment debtor ‘has contracted to submit himself to the forum in which the judgment was obtained’. . .
Cited – British Columbia v Zastowny 8-Feb-2008
Canlii (Supreme Court of Canada) Damages – Past and future wage loss – Periods of incarceration – Plaintiff seeking damages for injuries suffered as consequence of sexual assaults – Whether plaintiff entitled to . .
Cited – Rees v Darlington Memorial Hospital NHS Trust HL 16-Oct-2003
The claimant was disabled, and sought sterilisation because she feared the additional difficulties she would face as a mother. The sterilisation failed. She sought damages.
Held: The House having considered the issue in MacFarlane only . .
Cited – Cattanach v Melchior 16-Jul-2003
Kirby J suggested: ‘Concern to protect the viability of the National Health Service at a time of multiple demands upon it might indeed help to explain the invocation in the House of Lords in McFarlane of the notion of ‘distributive justice’.’
Cited – Israel Discount Bank of New York v Hadjipateras CA 1983
An application was made to enforce a judgment in England. The respondent alleged that he had signed a guarantee under the undue influence of his father.
Held: The Court reversed the decision of the first instance judge. The substance of the . .
Lists of cited by and citing cases may be incomplete.

Damages, Professional Negligence

Updated: 11 October 2022; Ref: scu.649485

MacFarlane and Another v Tayside Health Board: HL 21 Oct 1999

Child born after vasectomy – Damages Limited

Despite a vasectomy, Mr MacFarlane fathered a child, and he and his wife sought damages for the cost of care and otherwise of the child. He appealed a rejection of his claim.
Held: The doctor undertakes a duty of care in regard to the prevention of pregnancy: it does not follow that the duty includes also avoiding the costs of rearing the child if born and accepted into the family. This is not the result of a public policy rule which would otherwise produce a different conclusion; it comes from the inherent limitation of the liability relied on. The claim for solatium stood, and the claim for expenses caused directly and immediately by the pregnancy and birth, including medical expenses (if any) and the costs of the layette, but the claim for damages in respect of the rearing of the child is dismissed. Lord Steyn: ‘It may be objected that the House must act like a court of law and not like a court of morals. That would only be partly right. The court must apply positive law. But a judge’s sense of the moral answer to a question, or the justice of the case, has been one of the great shaping forces of the common law. What may count in a situation of difficulty and uncertainty is not the subjective view of the judge but what he reasonably believes that the ordinary citizen would regard as right.’

Judges:

Lord Slynn of Hadley, Lord Steyn, Lord Hope of Craighead, Lord Clyde, Lord Millett

Citations:

Times 26-Nov-1999, [2000] 2 AC 59, [1999] UKHL 50, [1999] 4 All ER 961

Links:

House of Lords, House of Lords, Bailii

Jurisdiction:

Scotland

Citing:

Cited – Sciuriaga v Powell 1979
The plaintiff made a claim for the breach of a contract to terminate pregnancy by abortion.
Held: The sole reason for the continuation of the pregnancy was the doctor’s breach of contract. Damages were awarded for pain and suffering and for . .
Cited – Udale v Bloomsbury Area Health Authority QBD 1983
The plaintiff underwent a sterilisation operation. The operation was painful and she later became pregnant. She sought damages for the pain and suffering and the additional costs of caring for the new child.
Held: Public policy held fast . .
Cited – Emeh v Kensington and Chelsea and Westminster Area Health Authority CA 1-Jul-1984
A sterilisation operation had been performed negligently and failed and the claimant was born.
Held: The birth of a child with congenital abnormalities was a foreseeable consequence of the surgeon’s careless failure to clip a fallopian tube . .
Cited – Thake v Maurice CA 1986
A vasectomy was performed. The husband was told that contraception precautions were not necessary but a child was born. The claim was brought in contract and in tort. The first instance court found no reason why public policy prevented the recovery . .
Cited – Allen v Bloomsbury Health Authority 1993
The plaintiff sought damages after a failed sterilisation. She had been apprehensive during the pregnancy that the child might be handicapped, and in the event the child suffered from temper tantrums, a speech defect and slight dyslexia.
Held: . .
Appeal from – McFarlane v Tayside Health Board IHCS 8-May-1998
Damages were payable where child born after vasectomy of husband and sperm tests gave false confirmation. This even though gift of a child a normal and healthy process and happy outcome. . .
Outer House – McFarlane v Tayside Health Board OHCS 11-Nov-1996
No damages are awardable for the birth of child following the failure of a vasectomy. It is against public policy to treat the birth of a child as a loss. . .

Cited by:

Cited – Groom v Selby CA 18-Oct-2001
The defendant negligently failed to discover the claimant’s pregnancy. A severely disabled child was born. The question was as to the responsibility for payment of excess costs of raising a severely disabled child, a claim for economic loss. The . .
Cited – Rees v Darlington Memorial Hospital NHS Trust CA 14-Feb-2002
A disabled mother sought damages for the birth of a child after a negligently performed sterilisation.
Held: The rule in McFarlane against recovery of damages for the birth of a healthy child, did not prevent an award which was intended to . .
Cited – Chagos Islanders v The Attorney General, Her Majesty’s British Indian Ocean Territory Commissioner QBD 9-Oct-2003
The Chagos Islands had been a British dependent territory since 1814. The British government repatriated the islanders in the 1960s, and the Ilois now sought damages for their wrongful displacement, misfeasance, deceit, negligence and to establish a . .
Cited – Rees v Darlington Memorial Hospital NHS Trust HL 16-Oct-2003
The claimant was disabled, and sought sterilisation because she feared the additional difficulties she would face as a mother. The sterilisation failed. She sought damages.
Held: The House having considered the issue in MacFarlane only . .
Cited – AB and others v Leeds Teaching Hospital NHS Trust, Cardiff and Vale NHS Trust QBD 26-Mar-2004
Representative claims were made against the respondents, hospitals, pathologists etc with regard to the removal of organs from deceased children without the informed consent of the parents. They claimed under the tort of wrongful interference.
Cited – Farraj and Another v King’s Healthcare NHS Trust and Another QBD 26-May-2006
The claimants sought damages after the birth of their child with a severe hereditary disease which they said the defendant hospital had failed to diagnose after testing for that disease. The hospital sought a contribution from the company CSL who . .
Limited – Hardman v Amin QBD 2001
Henriques J said: ‘McFarlane does not affect the law so far as it relates to the wrongful birth of disabled children.’ . .
Cited – Meadows v Khan QBD 23-Nov-2017
Claim for the additional costs of raising the claimant’s son, A, who suffered from both haemophilia and autism. It is admitted that, but for the defendant’s negligence, A would not have been born because his mother would have discovered during her . .
Cited – Robinson v Chief Constable of West Yorkshire Police SC 8-Feb-2018
Limits to Police Exemption from Liability
The claimant, an elderly lady was bowled over and injured when police were chasing a suspect through the streets. As they arrested him they fell over on top of her. She appealed against refusal of her claim in negligence.
Held: Her appeal . .
Cited – Human Rights Commission for Judicial Review (Northern Ireland : Abortion) SC 7-Jun-2018
The Commission challenged the compatibility of the NI law relating to banning nearly all abortions with Human Rights Law. It now challenged a decision that it did not have standing to bring the case.
Held: (Lady Hale, Lord Kerr and Lord Wilson . .
Cited – Whittington Hospital NHS Trust v XX SC 1-Apr-2020
A negligent delay in the diagnosis of her cancer left the clamant dependent on paid for surrogacy arrangements. Three issues were raised; could damages to fund surrogacy arrangements using the claimant’s own eggs be recovered? Second, if so, could . .
Lists of cited by and citing cases may be incomplete.

Damages, Professional Negligence, Personal Injury

Leading Case

Updated: 11 October 2022; Ref: scu.135129

British Columbia v Zastowny: 8 Feb 2008

Canlii (Supreme Court of Canada) Damages – Past and future wage loss – Periods of incarceration – Plaintiff seeking damages for injuries suffered as consequence of sexual assaults – Whether plaintiff entitled to compensation for wage loss while he was incarcerated – Whether plaintiff can be compensated for time spent in prison after he became eligible for parole – Whether recovery for past wage loss while incarcerated barred by application of ex turpi causa non oritur actio doctrine or novus actus interveniens doctrine – Whether Court of Appeal erred in reducing award for loss of future earnings.
Canlii In 1988, Z was twice sexually assaulted by a prison official while imprisoned for a break and enter committed to support a crack cocaine addiction. After his release from prison, Z became addicted to heroin and a repeat offender. He was in prison for 12 of the next 15 years. In 2003, Z commenced an action seeking damages for the sexual assaults. A psychologist testified that the assaults caused Z to start using heroin and exacerbated his substance abuse and criminality. Z was awarded general and aggravated damages, the cost of future counselling, and compensation for past and future wage losses. The award for past wage losses included compensation for time spent in prison. The Court of Appeal reduced the award for past wage loss in order to compensate Z only for the time spent in prison after eligibility for parole and it reduced Z’s future wage loss by 30 percent to reflect his high risk of recidivism.
Held: The appeal should be allowed and the cross-appeal should be dismissed.

Judges:

McLachlin CJ and Bastarache, Binnie, LeBel, Deschamps, Fish, Abella, Charron and Rothstein JJ

Citations:

[2008] 1 SCR 27, (2008), 290 DLR (4th) 21, [2008] 4 WWR 381, (2008) 76 BCLR (4th) 1

Links:

Canlii

Jurisdiction:

Canada

Cited by:

Cited – Gray v Thames Trains and Others HL 17-Jun-2009
The claimant suffered psychiatric injury in a rail crash caused by the defendant’s negligence. Under this condition of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder, the claimant had later gone on to kill another person, and he had been detained under section 41. . .
Cited – Whittington Hospital NHS Trust v XX SC 1-Apr-2020
A negligent delay in the diagnosis of her cancer left the clamant dependent on paid for surrogacy arrangements. Three issues were raised; could damages to fund surrogacy arrangements using the claimant’s own eggs be recovered? Second, if so, could . .
Lists of cited by and citing cases may be incomplete.

Damages

Updated: 11 October 2022; Ref: scu.347282

Rees v Darlington Memorial Hospital NHS Trust: HL 16 Oct 2003

The claimant was disabled, and sought sterilisation because she feared the additional difficulties she would face as a mother. The sterilisation failed. She sought damages.
Held: The House having considered the issue in MacFarlane only recently it was inappropriate to change the rules set down in that case. Nothing had been put forward to argue convincingly for a change. However there should be a standardised award, set at pounds 15.000. No damages should be awarded for the extra costs of parenthood arising from a mother’s own disability.
Lord Bingham described the award: ‘[the] award would not be, and would not be intended to be, compensatory. It would not be the product of calculation. But it would not be a nominal, let alone a derisory, award. It would afford some measure of recognition of the wrong done.’

Judges:

Lord Bingham of Cornhill, Lord Nicholls of Birkenhead, Lord Steyn, Lord Hope of Craighead, Lord Hutton, Lord Millett, Lord Scott of Foscote

Citations:

[2004] 1 AC 309, [2003] UKHL 52, Times 21-Oct-2003, [2003] 3 FCR 289, [2004] Fam Law 22, [2004] Lloyds Rep Med 1, [2004] PIQR P14, [2004] 1 FLR 234, [2003] 4 All ER 987, [2003] 3 WLR 1091, (2004) 75 BMLR 69

Links:

House of Lords, Bailii

Jurisdiction:

England and Wales

Citing:

Cited – MacFarlane and Another v Tayside Health Board HL 21-Oct-1999
Child born after vasectomy – Damages Limited
Despite a vasectomy, Mr MacFarlane fathered a child, and he and his wife sought damages for the cost of care and otherwise of the child. He appealed a rejection of his claim.
Held: The doctor undertakes a duty of care in regard to the . .
Cited – Parkinson v St James and Seacroft University Hospital NHS Trust CA 11-Apr-2001
A mother had undergone a negligent sterilisation, and in due course she gave birth to a disabled child.
Held: The right to bodily integrity is the first and most important of the interests protected by the law of tort. The cases saying that . .
Cited – Dutton v Bognor Regis Urban District Council CA 1972
The court considered the liability in negligence of a Council whose inspector had approved a building which later proved defective.
Held: The Council had control of the work and with such control came a responsibility to take care in . .
Cited – Emeh v Kensington and Chelsea and Westminster Area Health Authority CA 1985
Evidence was given to the effect that the chance of a baby being born with a congenital abnormality was between one in 200 and one in 400. . .
Cited – Thake v Maurice CA 1986
A vasectomy was performed. The husband was told that contraception precautions were not necessary but a child was born. The claim was brought in contract and in tort. The first instance court found no reason why public policy prevented the recovery . .
Cited – Benarr v Kettering Health Authority 1988
. .
Appeal from – Rees v Darlington Memorial Hospital NHS Trust CA 14-Feb-2002
A disabled mother sought damages for the birth of a child after a negligently performed sterilisation.
Held: The rule in McFarlane against recovery of damages for the birth of a healthy child, did not prevent an award which was intended to . .
Cited – Cattanach v Melchior 16-Jul-2003
Kirby J suggested: ‘Concern to protect the viability of the National Health Service at a time of multiple demands upon it might indeed help to explain the invocation in the House of Lords in McFarlane of the notion of ‘distributive justice’.’
Cited – Practice Statement (Judicial Precedent) HL 1966
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 . .
Cited – Fitzleet Estates Ltd v Cherry HL 9-Nov-1977
Income tax – Schedule D, Cases III and VI – Payments of interest and ground rent incurred when property was being developed – Whether capitalised or paid out of profits or gains brought into charge to tax – Income Tax Act 1952 (15 and 16 Geo. 6 and . .
Cited – Regina v Knuller (Publishing, Printing and Promotions) Ltd; Knuller etc v Director of Public Prosecutions HL 1972
The defendants were charged after pasting up in telephone booths advertisements for homosexual services. They published a magazine with similar advertisements. The House was asked to confirm the existence of an offence of outraging public decency. . .
Cited – Clark v TDG Limited (Trading As Novacold) CA 25-Mar-1999
The applicant had soft tissue injuries around the spine as a consequence of a back injury at work. He was absent from work for a long time as a result of his injuries, and he was eventually dismissed when his medical advisers could provide no clear . .
Cited – Livingstone v Rawyards Coal Co HL 13-Feb-1880
Damages or removal of coal under land
User damages were awarded for the unauthorised removal of coal from beneath the appellant’s land, even though the site was too small for the appellant to have mined the coal himself. The appellant was also awarded damages for the damage done to the . .
Cited – Lim Poh Choo v Camden and Islington Area Health Authority HL 21-Jun-1979
The plaintiff was catastrophically injured. Her life expectation was not affected, but she would never be able to work at her expected profession as a doctor, and was entitled to recover for loss of earnings. The defendant said that there was in . .
Cited – Wright v British Railways Board HL 1983
An award of interest at a conventional rate includes an element in respect of the ‘real’ rate of return which an investor could expect to receive on a risk-free investment and an element to allow for inflation. Lord Diplock said: ‘that element of . .
Cited – Mohammed Ali Shaher and others v British Aerospace Flying College Limited IHCS 29-May-2003
The pursuers claimed for the death of their son, a trainee pilot aged 19, in a flying accident. The defenders reclaimed against the Lord Ordinary’s awards of andpound;35,000 to each parent. In the course of the reclaiming motion the pursuers invited . .
Cited – Caparo Industries Plc v Dickman and others HL 8-Feb-1990
Limitation of Loss from Negligent Mis-statement
The plaintiffs sought damages from accountants for negligence. They had acquired shares in a target company and, relying upon the published and audited accounts which overstated the company’s earnings, they purchased further shares.
Held: The . .
Cited – South Australia Asset Management Corporation v York Montague Ltd etc HL 24-Jun-1996
Limits of Damages for Negligent Valuations
Damages for negligent valuations are limited to the foreseeable consequences of advice, and do not include losses arising from a general fall in values. Valuation is seldom an exact science, and within a band of figures valuers may differ without . .

Cited by:

Cited – Farraj and Another v King’s Healthcare NHS Trust and Another QBD 26-May-2006
The claimants sought damages after the birth of their child with a severe hereditary disease which they said the defendant hospital had failed to diagnose after testing for that disease. The hospital sought a contribution from the company CSL who . .
Cited – Lumba (WL) v Secretary of State for The Home Department SC 23-Mar-2011
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 . .
Cited – Meadows v Khan QBD 23-Nov-2017
Claim for the additional costs of raising the claimant’s son, A, who suffered from both haemophilia and autism. It is admitted that, but for the defendant’s negligence, A would not have been born because his mother would have discovered during her . .
Cited – Regina v London Borough of Barnet ex parte G; Regina v London Borough of Lambeth ex parte W; Regina v London Borough of Lambeth ex parte A HL 23-Oct-2003
The applicants sought to oblige the local authority, in compliance with its duties under the 1989 Act, to provide a home for children, and where necessary an accompanying adult.
Held: There were four hurdles for the applicants to cross. They . .
Cited – Whittington Hospital NHS Trust v XX SC 1-Apr-2020
A negligent delay in the diagnosis of her cancer left the clamant dependent on paid for surrogacy arrangements. Three issues were raised; could damages to fund surrogacy arrangements using the claimant’s own eggs be recovered? Second, if so, could . .
Lists of cited by and citing cases may be incomplete.

Damages, Professional Negligence

Updated: 11 October 2022; Ref: scu.186773

Livingstone v Rawyards Coal Co: HL 13 Feb 1880

Damages or removal of coal under land

User damages were awarded for the unauthorised removal of coal from beneath the appellant’s land, even though the site was too small for the appellant to have mined the coal himself. The appellant was also awarded damages for the damage done to the houses on the surface. If damages are to be awarded at all, the aim must be to put an injured party: ‘in the same position as he would have been in if he had not suffered the wrong for which he is now getting his compensation or reparation’
Lord Blackburne said: ‘I do not think there is any difference of opinion as to its being a general rule that, where any injury is to be compensated by damages, in settling the sum of money to be given for reparation of damages you should as nearly as possible get that sum of money which will put the party who has been injured, or who has suffered, in the same position as he would have been in if he had not sustained the wrong for which he is now getting his compensation or reparation. That must be qualified by a great many things which may arise – such, for instance, as by the consideration whether the damage has been maliciously done, or whether it has been done with full knowledge that the person doing it was doing wrong. There could be no doubt that there you would say that everything would be taken into view that would go most against the wilful wrongdoer–many things which you would properly allow in favour of an innocent mistaken trespasser would be disallowed as against a wilful and intentional trespasser on the ground that he must not qualify his own wrong, and various things of that sort.’

Judges:

Lord Blackburne

Citations:

(1880) 5 App Cas 25, [1880] UKHL 3, [1880] UKHL 387, 17 SLR 387, 5 App Cas 253

Links:

Bailii, Bailii

Jurisdiction:

Scotland

Citing:

Appeal from – Livingstone v The Rawyards Coal Co SCS 20-May-1879
. .

Cited by:

Cited – Kennedy v K B Van Emden and Co; Jordan v Gershon Young Finer and Green and Similar CA 27-Mar-1996
A solicitor failed in 1983 to advise a purchaser of the fact that premium she was paying on purchasing a leasehold flat was unlawful under the Act, and would be unrecoverable on the sale. Before trial however, in 1989 the law changed and the premium . .
Cited – Farley v Skinner HL 11-Oct-2001
The claimant sought damages from the defendant surveyor. He had asked the defendant whether the house he was to buy was subject to aircraft noise. After re-assurance, he bought the house. The surveyor was wrong and negligent. A survey would not . .
Cited – Longden v British Coal Corporation HL 13-Mar-1997
The plaintiff was injured whilst at work in one of the defendant’s collieries. The House considered the deductibility from damages awarded for personal injury of a collateral benefit.
Held: The issue of deductibility where the claim is for . .
Cited – McKinnon and another v E Survey Ltd (formerly known as GA Valuation and Survey Ltd) ChD 14-Jan-2003
The claimants purchased a house relying upon a survey by the defendants. Although the defendants reported long standing movement of the property, the defendants failed to report that to be saleable, a long investigation would be required, reducing . .
Cited – Rees v Darlington Memorial Hospital NHS Trust HL 16-Oct-2003
The claimant was disabled, and sought sterilisation because she feared the additional difficulties she would face as a mother. The sterilisation failed. She sought damages.
Held: The House having considered the issue in MacFarlane only . .
Cited – Smith New Court Securities Ltd v Scrimgeour Vickers HL 21-Nov-1996
The defendant had made misrepresentations, inducing the claimant to enter into share transactions which he would not otherwise have entered into, and which lost money.
Held: A deceitful wrongdoer is properly liable for all actual damage . .
Cited – Alfred Mcalpine Construction Limited v Panatown Limited HL 17-Feb-2000
A main contractor who was building not on his own land, would only be free to claim damages from a sub-contractor for defects in the building where the actual owner of the land would not also have had a remedy. Here, the land owner was able to sue . .
Cited – Cantwell v Criminal Injuries Compensation Board HL 5-Jul-2001
When calculating the losses suffered by a victim of crime, the allowance to be made for losses to a retirement pension through having to retire early should have set off against them, the benefits received by way of payments for his ill-health, . .
Cited – Collins Stewart Ltd and Another v The Financial Times Ltd QBD 20-Oct-2004
The claimants sought damages for defamation. The claimed that the article had caused very substantial losses (andpound;230 million) to them by affecting their market capitalisation value. The defendant sought to strike out that part of the claim. . .
Cited – Parry v Cleaver HL 5-Feb-1969
PI Damages not Reduced for Own Pension
The plaintiff policeman was disabled by the negligence of the defendant and received a disablement pension. Part had been contributed by himself and part by his employer.
Held: The plaintiff’s appeal succeeded. Damages for personal injury were . .
Cited – Gilbert and Another (T/A Woods Farm Christmas Trees) v British Waterways Board TCC 15-Dec-2005
The respondent was responsible for a canal which overflowed onto the claimant’s land causing damage to the claimant’s business providing christmas trees. The defendant criticised the lack of accounting records.
Held: The claimants operated . .
Cited – Catlin Estates Ltd and Another v Carter Jonas (A Firm) TCC 31-Oct-2005
The defendants had been employed to manage a building project which it was said went wrong. The court had to consider several different factual claims. . .
Cited – Devenish Nutrition Ltd v Sanofi-Aventis Sa (France) and others CA 14-Oct-2008
The defendant had been involved in price fixing arrangements, and the claimant sought damages for breach of its proprietary rights. The claimant appealed refusal of an award an account of profits for what was akin to a breach of statutory duty.
Cited – Chagger v Abbey National Plc and Another CA 13-Nov-2009
The claimant appealed against the limitation of 2% placed on the uplift of his award of damages for having failed to comply with relevant dispute procedures. The tribunal had found exceptional reasons for reducing the uplift given the size of the . .
Cited – County Personnel (Employment Agency) Ltd v Alan R Pulver and Co (a Firm) CA 1987
The claimant sought damages after his negligent solicitors had saddled him with a ruinous underlease. They had had to buy themselves out of the lease. The court considered the date at which damages were to be calculated.
Held: The starting . .
Cited – A v B Hospitals NHS Trust Admn 10-Nov-2006
The claimant baby had suffered catastrophic injuries at birth in the defendant’s hospital. Liability having been admitted, the court now considered whether damages should be paid as a lump sum or by periodical payments.
Held: ‘ the form of . .
Cited – AIB Group (UK) Plc v Mark Redler and Co Solicitors SC 5-Nov-2014
Bank not to recover more than its losses
The court was asked as to the remedy available to the appellant bank against the respondent, a firm of solicitors, for breach of the solicitors’ custodial duties in respect of money entrusted to them for the purpose of completing a loan which was to . .
Cited – Bacciottini and Another v Gotelee and Goldsmith (A Firm) CA 18-Mar-2016
A property subject to a planning condition was purchased by the appellant under the advice of the respondent, who failed to notify him of the existence of a planning condition. The judge had awarded the claimant pounds 250 being the cost of the . .
Cited – Downs and Another v Chappell and Another CA 3-Apr-1996
The plaintiffs had suceeded in variously establishing claims in deceit and negligence, but now appealed against the finding that no damages had flowed from the wrongs. They had been sold a business on the basis of incorrect figures.
Held: . .
Cited – Heil v Rankin CA 13-Jun-2000
Where supervening events might contribute to the personal injury suffered, the proper approach in apportioning compensation in respect of one occasion was in general terms to provide just and sufficient compensation for the injury caused without . .
Cited – Pickett v British Rail Engineering HL 2-Nov-1978
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 . .
Cited – Morris-Garner and Another v One Step (Support) Ltd SC 18-Apr-2018
The Court was asked in what circumstances can damages for breach of contract be assessed by reference to the sum that the claimant could hypothetically have received in return for releasing the defendant from the obligation which he failed to . .
Cited – Whittington Hospital NHS Trust v XX SC 1-Apr-2020
A negligent delay in the diagnosis of her cancer left the clamant dependent on paid for surrogacy arrangements. Three issues were raised; could damages to fund surrogacy arrangements using the claimant’s own eggs be recovered? Second, if so, could . .
Lists of cited by and citing cases may be incomplete.

Damages, Torts – Other

Leading Case

Updated: 11 October 2022; Ref: scu.180640

Sturnham v Secretary of State for Justice: CA 23 Feb 2012

The claimant life sentence prisoner had inter alia been detained after the expiry of his tarriff pending a review of whether his continued detention was required for public protection. That review had been delayed, and the claimant was awarded andpound;300 for the associetd anxiety and distress. The Secretary appealed.
Held: Laws LJ took as his starting point the different treatment under the common law of wrongs in private law and in public law, and considered that an analogous distinction was reflected in some of the Strasbourg case law.

Judges:

Laws, McFarlane, Patten LJJ

Citations:

[2012] EWCA Civ 452, [2012] 3 WLR 476

Links:

Bailii

Statutes:

European Convention on Hman Rights 5(4), Crime Sentences Act 1997 28(6)(b)

Jurisdiction:

England and Wales

Citing:

Appeal from – Sturnham, Regina (on The Application of) v Parole Board, Secretary of State for Justice Admn 14-Mar-2011
S was serving a term of life imprisonment. After serving the tariff, his detention should have been reviewed. After several serious delays, and a decision that he should instead be transferred to open conditions, he brought proceedings for judicial . .
Cited – Nikolova v Bulgaria ECHR 25-Mar-1999
(Grand Chamber) The claimant had been detained for long periods after coming under suspicion of theft of large sums. Her detention had initially been ordered by prosecutors. Her initial appeals against her detention were also decided by prosecutors. . .

Cited by:

Appeal from – Faulkner, Regina (on The Application of) v Secretary of State for Justice and Another SC 1-May-2013
The applicants had each been given a life sentence, but having served the minimum term had been due to have the continued detention reviewed to establish whether or not continued detention was necessary for the protection of the pblic. It had not . .
Appeal from – Sturnham, Regina (on The Application of) v The Parole Board of England and Wales and Another (No 2) SC 3-Jul-2013
From 4 April 2005 until 3 December 2012, English law provided for the imposition of sentences of imprisonment for public protection (‘IPP’). The Court addressed the practical and legal issues resulting from the new system.
Held: The decision . .
Lists of cited by and citing cases may be incomplete.

Prisons, Human Rights, Damages

Updated: 07 October 2022; Ref: scu.452826

Ebbw Vale Steel Co v Tew: CA 1935

The court considered the damages to be awarded where an employee left without the proper notice: ‘The Judge should ascertain the workman’s probable output during the time of default, find its selling value, deduct the expenses which would have been incurred had the workman performed his contract, and which were not incurred when he failed to produce it, and award that amount to the employer.’

Citations:

[1935] 79 SJ 593

Jurisdiction:

England and Wales

Cited by:

Cited – Tullett Prebon Group Ltd v El-Hajjali QBD 31-Jul-2008
The defendant signed an employment contract to join the claimants as a senior broker. He changed his mind and decided to stay in his existing job. The new employers sued for breach of contract. The defendant said that the claimants had refused to . .
Lists of cited by and citing cases may be incomplete.

Contract, Employment, Damages

Updated: 07 October 2022; Ref: scu.282598

Hussain v EUI Ltd: QBD 10 Oct 2019

This appeal concerns the proper approach to the financial losses suffered by a self-employed professional driver while his or her car is off the road pending its repair or replacement following an accident for which another party is at fault.

Citations:

[2019] EWHC 2647 (QB)

Links:

Bailii

Jurisdiction:

England and Wales

Damages

Updated: 06 October 2022; Ref: scu.643117

KC v MGN Ltd: QBD 5 Mar 2012

The claimant sought damages in defamation. His child had been murdered by his estranged former partner and her new man. In the course of extraordinarily intense publicity the defendant had wrongly described him as a convicted rapist. He was and remained a man of entirely good character. An agreed apology had been published but the parties had failed to agree damages. Further misattributions of the rape conviction during the negotiations made matters worse.
Held: The court fixed a starting point figure of andpound;150,000 and then made an appropriate reduction (assessed at 50%) to take account of all mitigating factors, including the willingness of MGN Ltd to use the offer of amends procedure. He awarded KC andpound;75,000.

Judges:

Bean J

Citations:

[2012] EWHC 483 (QB)

Links:

Bailii

Jurisdiction:

England and Wales

Cited by:

Appeal from – Cairns v Modi CA 31-Oct-2012
Three appeals against the levels of damages awards were heard together, and the court considered the principles to be applied.
Held: In assessing compensation following a libel, the essential question was how much loss and damage did the . .
Lists of cited by and citing cases may be incomplete.

Defamation, Damages

Updated: 05 October 2022; Ref: scu.451793

BDA v Quirino: QBD 23 Oct 2015

A claim was brought by BDA to recover damages for the consequences of systematic sexual abuse to which she was subjected by the Defendant, her then karate instructor, during her teenage years.

Judges:

Graham Wood QC HHJ

Citations:

[2015] EWHC 2974 (QB)

Links:

Bailii

Jurisdiction:

England and Wales

Torts – Other, Damages

Updated: 04 October 2022; Ref: scu.554252

Kepple-Palmer v Exus Travel: QBD 2003

Gage J considered a holiday disappointment claim saying: ‘In my opinion the claimant is entitled to a sum representing diminution in value of the holiday. In assessing this sum I take into account that this was on any view a very expensive holiday. As such, the claimant and her party were entitled to expect very high standards. As I have found, what she was provided with fell well below these high standards. Doing the best I can, and taking into account what was provided, the location and the time of year, I assess damages under this head in the sum of andpound;22,000 as will be obvious, I calculate this on the basis of a deduction of some 25% from the contract price.
In my opinion she is entitled to a sum representing loss of enjoyment. In this respect, I take into account that this was designed to be a very luxurious holiday, coming after her, and her family’s, difficult year. This is, however, not the case of a family unused to holidays. To be able to afford the cost of such a holiday indicates a degree of financial resources from which I infer that that the claimant and her family are used to some of the more expensive things in life, including regular holidays. For that reason, in my judgment, the sum for the loss of the enjoyment must be modest; I assess it in the sum of andpound;3,000.’

Judges:

Gage J

Citations:

[2003] EWHC 3529 (QB)

Jurisdiction:

England and Wales

Cited by:

Cited – Milner and Another v Carnival Plc (T/A Cunard) CA 20-Apr-2010
Damages for Disastrous Cruise
The claimants had gone on a cruise organised by the defendants. It was described by them as ‘the trip of a lifetime.’ It did not meet their expectations. There had been several complaints, including that the cabin was noisy as the floor flexed with . .
Lists of cited by and citing cases may be incomplete.

Damages, Contract

Updated: 04 October 2022; Ref: scu.408562

Abrahams v Herbert Reiach Limited: CA 1922

Scrutton LJ said: ‘A defendant is not liable in damages for not doing what he is not bound to do.’
Atkin LJ said: ‘The proper method of assessment is . . to make a reasonable computation of the amount the respondents would have received had the contract been fulfilled.’ and . .
‘[i]f a merchant makes a contract to deliver goods to a shipowner to be carried by him for reward, and the merchant fails to provide the goods, the Court must first find what is the contract which has been broken; and if it was to carry the goods to one of two alternative ports at different distances from the port of loading at rates of freight differing according to the distance, the only contract on which the shipowner can sue is a contract for carriage to the nearer port. The plaintiff cannot prove a contract for performance of the more onerous obligation. This explains why in cases of this kind the Court regards only the lesser of two alternative obligations.’

Judges:

Scrutton LJ, Banks LJ, Atkin LJ

Citations:

[1922] 1 KB 477

Jurisdiction:

England and Wales

Cited by:

Cited – Mr H TV Ltd v ITV2 Ltd ComC 8-Oct-2015
The claimant had contracted with the defendant for the production of a series of reality TV shows featuring celebrities. After severe personal clashes between the people involved on the claimants side, the contract was terminated. The claim was that . .
Lists of cited by and citing cases may be incomplete.

Damages, Contract

Updated: 04 October 2022; Ref: scu.341214

Franked Investment Income Group Litigation, The Test Claimants In v Revenue and Customs: CA 24 Nov 2016

Judges:

Sir Geoffrey Charles Vos Ch, Underhill, David Richards LJJ

Citations:

[2016] EWCA Civ 1180, [2017] STC 696, [2016] BTC 44, [2017] 1 CMLR 37

Links:

Bailii

Statutes:

Value Added Tax Act 1994 94

Jurisdiction:

England and Wales

Citing:

At ChD – The Test Claimants In The FII Group Litigation v The Commissioners of Inland Revenue and Another ChD 14-Oct-2015
. .
Lists of cited by and citing cases may be incomplete.

Corporation Tax, Damages

Updated: 04 October 2022; Ref: scu.571930

AIB Group (UK) Plc v Mark Redler and Co (A Firm): ChD 23 Jan 2012

The claimant bank sought damages from the defendant solicitors, saying that they had paid on mortgage advance moneys but failed to deliver as promised and required, a first mortgage over the property purchased. The solicitors had failed to discharge an existing first charge (to Barclays). The parties now disputed whether the sum due to the bank was the entire sum loaned, or only the net sum lost after the sale.
Held: The solicitors had acted in good faith, but in breach of trust.
Prima facie the bank was entitled to reconstitution of the trust fund by repayment of the amount wrongly paid away. As to the bank’s alternative claim for equitable compensation or damages, he said that where the breach consisted of failure to discharge a prior mortgage, with the result that the bank’s interest had been postponed to the Barclays charge, the bank was entitled to equitable compensation for the additional amounts due to Barclays for which Barclays had security in priority to the bank. The solicitors were therefore liable to the bank for the additional amount ultimately obtained by Barclays by reason of its prior security.
The court analysed the breach of trust: ‘ In the present case, . . . what the defendant’s instructions authorised them to do with the funds paid to them was to pay to Barclays (or to its account) such sum as was required to procure a release of its charge, and pay the balance to the borrowers or to their order. Had they complied with their instructions they would have paid (taking all the figures in round terms) andpound;1.5m to Barclays and andpound;1.8m to the borrowers. In the event they paid andpound;1.2m to Barclays and andpound;2.1m to the borrowers. In my judgment, in so doing they committed a breach of trust in so far as payment was made contrary to the authority they had been given.
It does not however in my judgment necessarily follow that the whole of the payment of andpound;3.3m was made in breach of trust. The difference between what the defendant did and what it ought to have done if it had complied with its instructions was the andpound;300,000 that should have been paid to Barclays but was instead paid to the borrowers. That in my judgment was the extent of the breach of trust committed. It was not a breach of trust to pay andpound;1.2m to Barclays; that payment was made as partial performance of the authority and obligation to discharge Barclays’ secured debt. It was not a breach of trust to pay andpound;1.8m to the borrowers, as that was the sum to which they were entitled. The breach consisted of the failure to retain an additional andpound;300,000 and apply that to the discharge of the Barclays debt.’

Judges:

David Cooke HHJ

Citations:

[2012] EWHC 35 (Ch)

Links:

Bailii

Jurisdiction:

England and Wales

Cited by:

Cited – Cook v The Mortgage Business Plc CA 24-Jan-2012
The land owners sought relief from possession orders made under mortgages given in equity release schemes: ‘If the purchaser raises all or part of the purchase price on mortgage, and then defaults, the issue arises whether the mortgagee’s right to . .
Appeal from – AIB Group (UK) Plc v Mark Redler and Co Solicitors CA 8-Feb-2013
The defendant firm of solicitors had acted for the claimants under instructions to secure a first charge over the secured property. They failed to secure the discharge of the existing first charge, causing losses. AIB asserted breach of trust.
At ChD – AIB Group (UK) Plc v Mark Redler and Co Solicitors SC 5-Nov-2014
Bank not to recover more than its losses
The court was asked as to the remedy available to the appellant bank against the respondent, a firm of solicitors, for breach of the solicitors’ custodial duties in respect of money entrusted to them for the purpose of completing a loan which was to . .
Lists of cited by and citing cases may be incomplete.

Professional Negligence, Torts – Other, Equity, Damages

Updated: 04 October 2022; Ref: scu.450453

Johnson v The King: PC 22 Jun 1904

(Sierra Leone) For restitutionary claims, an action for money had and received only the net sum could be recovered.

Citations:

[1904] AC 817, [1904] UKPC 38

Links:

Bailii

Jurisdiction:

Commonwealth

Citing:

Applied – London, Chatham and Dover Railway Co v South Eastern Railway Co HL 1893
The Lord Chancellor was considering the position of a creditor whose debtor refused to exchange accounts as agreed, thus preventing the creditor from quantifying the debt.
Held: The House declined to alter the rule in Page -v- Newman.

Cited by:

Cited – Littlewoods Ltd and Others v Commissioners for Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs SC 1-Nov-2017
The appellants had overpaid under a mistake of law very substantial sums in VAT over several years. The excess had been repaid, but with simple interest and not compound interest, which the now claimed (together with other taxpayers amounting to 17 . .
Lists of cited by and citing cases may be incomplete.

Damages, Equity

Updated: 01 October 2022; Ref: scu.419598

Hungerfords v Walker: 1989

To allow a claimant to recover special, but not general, damages for loss of the use of money is widely seen as illogical. In Hungerfords v Walker (1989) 171 CLR 125, 142 Mason CJ said that it subverted the second limb in Hadley v Baxendale from its intended purpose, which was to allow loss arising from special circumstances of which the defendant had actual knowledge in cases where the loss did not fall within the first limb because it did not arise from the ordinary course of things.

Judges:

Mason CJ

Citations:

(1989) 171 CLR 125

Jurisdiction:

England and Wales

Cited by:

Cited – Sempra Metals Ltd v Inland Revenue Commissioners and Another HL 18-Jul-2007
The parties agreed that damages were payable in an action for restitution, but the sum depended upon to a calculation of interest. They disputed whether such interest should be calculated on a simple or compound basis. The company sought compound . .
Lists of cited by and citing cases may be incomplete.

Commonwealth, Damages

Updated: 01 October 2022; Ref: scu.260126

Sony Computer Entertainment v Paul Owen: ChD 23 Jan 2002

Claim for infringement – sale of chip designed to bypass country code control on the claimant’s gaming machines.
Held: An infringement of copyright committed in breach of an injunction restraining such infringement can found an award of additional damages.
In distinguishing WB, Jacob J said: ‘That seems to me to be a very different case because there is no provision authorising damages for contempt itself and no provision in the general law for additional damages for the wrongs alleged [Bauer’s case was a case of breach of confidence]. Here there is. Section 97 requires the Court to have regard to all the circumstances. Those circumstances, to my mind, plainly can include the circumstance that the sales were done in breach of a Court Order. They make the act flagrant. They make the act fairly describable as ‘scandalous’. In this regard, copyright is different from many other rights precisely because there is the statutory right to additional damages if the Court, in all the circumstances, thinks it right to grant them. I do, in this case, in principle, although I am told that the evidence will establish mitigating circumstances. ‘

Judges:

Jacob J

Citations:

[2002] EMLR 34, [2002] EWHC 45 (Ch)

Links:

Bailii

Jurisdiction:

England and Wales

Citing:

Distinguished – WB v H Bauer Publishing Ltd 2002
. .

Cited by:

Cited – Navitaire Inc v Easyjet Airline Co and Another ChD 30-Jul-2004
The claimant alleged infringement of its copyright in a software system which dealt with airline reservations. It was not said that any code had been copied, but merely that an express requirement of the defendant ordering the system was that it . .
Cited – Phonographic Performance Ltd v Reader ChD 22-Mar-2005
The claimant had in the past obtained an injunction to prevent the defendant broadcasting without their licence musical works belonging to their members at his nightclub. The defendant had obtained a licence, but had not renewed it. The claimants in . .
Lists of cited by and citing cases may be incomplete.

Media, Intellectual Property, Damages

Updated: 01 October 2022; Ref: scu.220472

Samuels and Another v Benning: CA 22 May 2002

Citations:

[2002] EWCA Civ 858

Links:

Bailii

Jurisdiction:

England and Wales

Citing:

See Also – Samuels v Benning CA 17-Oct-2001
. .
Cited – Sotiros Shipping Inc v Sameiet; The Solholt CA 1983
The seller had failed to deliver the vessel he had sold by the delivery date. The buyer cancelled and requested return of his deposit, also claiming damages because the vessel was worth $500,000 more on the delivery date than she had been when the . .
Lists of cited by and citing cases may be incomplete.

Damages

Updated: 01 October 2022; Ref: scu.217220

President of India v La Pintada Compagnia Navigacia SA (“La Pintada”): HL 1985

The house decided against altering the rule in Page -v- Newman. ‘The common law does not award general damages for delay in payment of a debt beyond the date when it is contractually due’ The power given to the court under s 35A is discretionary. It does not have the character of a substantive right. (Brandon) A judge ‘ . . already has a statutory remedy. What is more, the new cause of action [argued for] . . would constitute a remedy as of right for a creditor whereas the statutory remedy would remain discretionary only. There would accordingly exist . . two parallel remedies, one as of right and the other discretionary. It is, in my view, plainly to be inferred, from the form of the relevant provisions of the Acts of 1934 and 1982 that Parliament has consistently regarded the award of interest on debts as a remedy to which creditors should not be entitled as of right, but only as a matter of discretion. That being the manifest policy of the legislature, I do not consider that your Lordships should create . . a rival system of remedies, which because they would be remedies as of right, would be inconsistent with that manifest policy.’

Judges:

Lord Brandon, Lord Bridge

Citations:

[1985] AC 104

Jurisdiction:

England and Wales

Citing:

Cited – Page v Newman 1829
Under common law ‘the long-established rule that interest is not due on money secured by a written instrument, unless it appears on the face of the instrument that interest was intended to be paid, or unless it be implied from the usage of trade, as . .
Cited – Chandris v Isbrandtsen-Moller Co Inc CA 1950
The court considered whether an arbitrator could award interest in circumstances where section 3 of the 1934 Act expressly conferred such a power on ‘the court’ in proceedings tried in a ‘court of record’.
Held: Although section 3(1) of the . .

Cited by:

Cited – Mohammed Aslam v South Bedfordshire District Council CA 21-Dec-2000
The claimant appealed an award of the Lands Tribunal of compensation for an order discontinuing his use as a slaughterhouse of premises of which he held a long lease. The tribunal had applied a discount for wastage on sheep carcasses of 25%, but had . .
Cited – Sempra Metals Ltd v Inland Revenue Commissioners and Another HL 18-Jul-2007
The parties agreed that damages were payable in an action for restitution, but the sum depended upon to a calculation of interest. They disputed whether such interest should be calculated on a simple or compound basis. The company sought compound . .
Cited – Boake Allen Ltd and others v HM Revenue and Customs CA 31-Jan-2006
The claimant companies had paid corporation tax under rules which had later been found to be discriminatory. They now sought repayment by virtue of double taxation agreements with the countries in which the parent companies were based.
Held: . .
Cited – Littlewoods Ltd and Others v Commissioners for Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs SC 1-Nov-2017
The appellants had overpaid under a mistake of law very substantial sums in VAT over several years. The excess had been repaid, but with simple interest and not compound interest, which the now claimed (together with other taxpayers amounting to 17 . .
Lists of cited by and citing cases may be incomplete.

Damages

Updated: 01 October 2022; Ref: scu.185178

Margrie Holdings Ltd v City of Edinburgh District Council: IHCS 1994

When asking whether a claim for damages could properly include an additional element to recover additional costs of an impecunious pursuer, the proper approach, consistent with the modern authorities, was to ask whether the loss was or was not foreseeable and that this was ultimately a question of fact in each case.

Judges:

Hope, Lord President

Citations:

1994 SLT 971, 1994 SC 1

Jurisdiction:

Scotland

Citing:

Applied – Chanthall Investments Ltd v F G Minter Ltd OHCS 22-Jan-1976
The court considered the approach to claims for damages which had been made worse because of the impecuniosity of the victim: ‘I am of opinion that in each case where the matter arises it is a question of fact, in the particular circumstances, . .

Cited by:

Cited – Lagden v O’Connor HL 4-Dec-2003
The parties had been involved in a road traffic accident. The defendant drove into the claimant’s parked car. The claimant was unable to afford to hire a car pending repairs being completed, and arranged to hire a car on credit. He now sought . .
Cited – Sempra Metals Ltd v Inland Revenue Commissioners and Another HL 18-Jul-2007
The parties agreed that damages were payable in an action for restitution, but the sum depended upon to a calculation of interest. They disputed whether such interest should be calculated on a simple or compound basis. The company sought compound . .
Lists of cited by and citing cases may be incomplete.

Damages

Updated: 01 October 2022; Ref: scu.188651

Trans Trust SPRL v Danubian Trading Co Ltd: CA 1952

Lord Justice Denning said: ‘It was also said that the damages were the result of the impecuniosity of the sellers and that it was a rule of law that such damages are too remote. I do not think there is any such rule. In the case of a breach of contract, it depends on whether the damages were reasonably foreseeable or not.’

Judges:

Lord Justice Denning

Citations:

[1952] 2 QB 297

Jurisdiction:

England and Wales

Cited by:

Cited – Smith and Another v South Gloucestershire Council CA 31-Jul-2002
The claimants purchased land. The local search did not reveal a planning permission which affected the value of the property by applying an occupancy condition. He claimed compensation. Compensation was eventually agreed to be payable, but the . .
Cited – Lagden v O’Connor HL 4-Dec-2003
The parties had been involved in a road traffic accident. The defendant drove into the claimant’s parked car. The claimant was unable to afford to hire a car pending repairs being completed, and arranged to hire a car on credit. He now sought . .
Cited – Chanthall Investments Ltd v F G Minter Ltd OHCS 22-Jan-1976
The court considered the approach to claims for damages which had been made worse because of the impecuniosity of the victim: ‘I am of opinion that in each case where the matter arises it is a question of fact, in the particular circumstances, . .
Cited – Sempra Metals Ltd v Inland Revenue Commissioners and Another HL 18-Jul-2007
The parties agreed that damages were payable in an action for restitution, but the sum depended upon to a calculation of interest. They disputed whether such interest should be calculated on a simple or compound basis. The company sought compound . .
Lists of cited by and citing cases may be incomplete.

Damages

Updated: 01 October 2022; Ref: scu.182980

M H Marshall v Southampton And South West Hampshire Area Health Authority (Teaching): ECJ 26 Feb 1986

ECJ The court considered the measure of compensation in a successful claim for sex discrimination arising from the health authority’s provision of an earlier compulsory retirement age for women compared with that for men in the same employment. The health authority paid her the maximum sum of pounds 6,250 which was then permitted as compensation under the Sex Discrimination Act 1975 and the House of Lords referred to the CJEU the question whether it was essential to the due implementation of article 6 of Council Directive 76/207/EEC (‘the Equal Treatment Directive’) that her compensation should not be less than the loss she had sustained and that it should include an award of interest.
Held: The term ‘dismissal’ contained in article 5(1) of Directive no 76/207 must be given a wide meaning; an age limit for the compulsory dismissal of workers pursuant to an employer’s general policy concerning retirement falls within the term ‘dismissal’ construed in that manner, even if the dismissal involves the grant of a retirement pension. In view of the fundamental importance of the principle of equality of treatment for men and women, article 1(2) of Directive no 76/207 on the implementation of that principle as regards access to employment and working conditions, which excludes social security matters from the scope of the directive, must be interpreted strictly. It follows that the exception to the prohibition of discrimination on grounds of sex provided for in article 7(1)(a) of directive no 79/7 on the progressive implementation of the principle of equal treatment in matters of social security applies only to the determination of pensionable age for the purposes of granting old-age and retirement pensions and the possible consequences thereof for other benefits. Article 5(1) of directive no 76/207 must be interpreted as meaning that a general policy concerning dismissal involving the dismissal of a woman solely because she has attained the qualifying age for a state pension, which age is different under national legislation for men and for women, constitutes discrimination on grounds of sex, contrary to that directive. Wherever the provisions of a directive appear, as far as their subject-matter is concerned, to be unconditional and sufficiently precise, those provisions may be relied upon by an individual against the state where that state fails to implement the directive in national law by the end of the period prescribed or where it fails to implement the directive correctly. It would in fact be incompatible with the binding nature which article 189 confers on the directive to hold as a matter of principle that the obligation imposed thereby cannot be relied on by those concerned. Consequently, a member state which has not adopted the implementing measures required by the directive within the prescribed period may not plead, as against individuals, its own failure to perform the obligations which the directive entails. In that respect the capacity in which the state acts, whether as employer or public authority, is irrelevant. In either case it is necessary to prevent the state from taking advantage of its own failure to comply with community law. According to article 189 of the EEC Treaty the binding nature of a directive, which constitutes the basis for the possibility of relying on the directive before a national court, exists only in relation to ‘each member state to which it is addressed’. It follows that a directive may not of itself impose obligations on an individual and that a provision of a directive may not be relied upon as such against such a person.
Article 5(1) of council directive no 76/207, which prohibits any discrimination on grounds of sex with regard to working conditions, including the conditions governing dismissal, may be relied upon as against a state authority acting in its capacity as employer, in order to avoid the application of any national provision which does not conform to article 5(1).

Citations:

C-152/84, [1986] IRLR 140, [1986] ICR 335, R-152/84, [1986] EUECJ R-152/84, [1986] 2 WLR 780, [1986] 1 CMLR 688, [1986] 2 All ER 584, [1986] ECR 723, [1986] QB 401

Links:

Bailii

Statutes:

Directive no 76/207 5(1)

Jurisdiction:

European

Cited by:

Cited – Nottinghamshire County Council v Meikle CA 8-Jul-2004
The claimant was a teacher who had come to suffer a sight disability. She complained that her employers had failed to make reasonable accomodation for her disability, and subsequently she resigned claiming constructive dismissal and damages for . .
Cited – Rutherford and Another v Secretary of State for Trade and Industry CA 3-Sep-2004
The claimants alleged that the legislation governing retirement was indirectly discriminatory against men. Though the right not to be unfairly dismissed maximum age limit was the same for men and for women, that did not apply on a redundancy.
Cited – Alabaster v Barclays Bank Plc and Another CA 3-May-2005
The claimant sought increased maternity pay. Before beginning her maternity leave she had been awarded a pay increase, but it was not backdated so as to affect the period upon which the calculation of her average pay was based. The court made a . .
Cited – Percy v Church of Scotland Board of National Mission HL 15-Dec-2005
The claimant appealed after her claim for sex discrimination had failed. She had been dismissed from her position an associate minister of the church. The court had found that it had no jurisdiction, saying that her appointment was not an . .
Cited – Chagger v Abbey National Plc and Another CA 13-Nov-2009
The claimant appealed against the limitation of 2% placed on the uplift of his award of damages for having failed to comply with relevant dispute procedures. The tribunal had found exceptional reasons for reducing the uplift given the size of the . .
Cited – Meikle v Nottinghamshire County Council EAT 19-Aug-2003
EAT Disability Discrimination – Less favourable treatment. The appellant brought proceedings against the Respondents alleging that they had failed to make adjustments to her workplace and conditions so as to . .
Cited – Doughty v Rolls Royce Plc CA 19-Dec-1991
The claimants sought to assert their rights under the Equal Treatment Directive, whoch had not been implemented. She had been made to retire at 60, but said that had she been a man she would not have had to retire until she reached 65 years old. She . .
Cited – Littlewoods Ltd and Others v Commissioners for Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs SC 1-Nov-2017
The appellants had overpaid under a mistake of law very substantial sums in VAT over several years. The excess had been repaid, but with simple interest and not compound interest, which the now claimed (together with other taxpayers amounting to 17 . .
Lists of cited by and citing cases may be incomplete.

Discrimination, Damages

Updated: 01 October 2022; Ref: scu.133907

Masri v Consolidated Contractors International UK Ltd and Another: ComC 14 Mar 2007

Judgment on quantum.

Judges:

Gloster J DBE

Citations:

[2007] EWHC 468 (Comm)

Links:

Bailii

Jurisdiction:

England and Wales

Citing:

See Also – Masri v Consolidated Contractors International (UK) Ltd ComC 17-May-2005
. .
See Also – Masri v Consolidated Contractors International (UK) Ltd CA 24-Oct-2005
The defendants who were resident in Greece appealed a decision that the English court had jurisdiction over them, by virtue of a close connection of the matter with earlier proceedings heard here.
Held: The fact that the defendants were all . .
See Also – Masri v Consolidated Contractors International UK Ltd and Another ComC 28-Jul-2006
. .

Cited by:

See Also – Masri v Consolidated Contractors International (UK) Ltd and others ComC 25-May-2007
Application for an order to prevent some defendants pursuing action in other jurisdictions. . .
See Also – Masri v Consolidated Contractors International Company Sal and Another CA 11-Jul-2007
. .
See Also – Masri v Consolidated Contractors International Company Sal and Another ComC 20-Dec-2007
. .
See Also – Masri v Consolidated Contractors International Company Sal and Another CA 4-Apr-2008
The court was asked whether the Commercial Court had international jurisdiction to make an order for the appointment of a receiver by way of equitable execution, and a freezing order, in relation to the judgment debtors’ interest in the concession . .
See Also – Masri v Consolidated Contractors International Company Sal and Another ComC 23-May-2008
Application for interpretation of a receivership order. . .
See Also – Masri v Consolidated Contractors International Company Sal and Another (No 3) CA 6-Jun-2008
The court was asked whether the English court has jurisdiction following judgment to grant an anti-suit injunction against foreign judgment debtors (one of whom has a domicile in a Brussels I Regulation State) restraining them from pursuing . .
See Also – Masri v Consolidated Contractors International (UK) Ltd and Another ComC 17-Jun-2008
Application for further order of payment of costs of action on account. . .
See Also – Masri v Consolidated Contractors International Company Sal and others CA 28-Jul-2008
The judgment creditor appealed an order refusing to oblige the defendant company to attend court and provide information about its means. . .
See Also – Masri v Consolidated Contractors International Company Sal and Another ComC 21-Oct-2008
The court heard matters relating to the recovery by the claimant of $63,000,000. . .
See Also – Masri v Consolidated Contractors International Co Sal and others CA 13-Nov-2008
The creditors sought leave to appeal against orders made in the course of proceedings to recover a very substantial debt from a foreign resident company. . .
See Also – Masri v Consolidated Contractors (Oil and Gas) Company Sal CA 6-Feb-2009
Appeal from order with regard to management of receivership. . .
See Also – Masri v Consolidated Contractors International Co Sal and Others HL 30-Jul-2009
The claimant sought to enforce a judgment debt against a foreign resident company, and for this purpose to examine or have examined a director who lived abroad. The defendant said that the rules gave no such power and they did, the power was outside . .
See Also – Masri v Consolidated Contractors International Company Sal and Others ComC 6-Oct-2010
The third respondent sought to strike out an application for his committal for failure to comply with orders made in support of proceedings to enforce a substantial judgment. . .
See Also – Masri v Consolidated Contractors International Company Sal ComC 21-Oct-2010
The court held a case management conference with regard to an intended application for committal for contempt of one of the defendants. . .
See Also – Consolidated Contractors International Company Sal and Another v Masri CA 21-Jan-2011
. .
See Also – Consolidated Contractors International Company Sal and Another v Masri CA 3-Feb-2011
. .
See Also – Masri and Another v Consolidated Contractors International Co Sal and Others ComC 3-Mar-2011
On notice hearing with regard to without notice receivership order. . .
See Also – Masri v Consolidated Contractors International Company Sal and Others ComC 5-May-2011
The applicant, and judgment creditor sought orders for committal for contempt by the defendant companies and officers after failing to comply with court orders. . .
Lists of cited by and citing cases may be incomplete.

Damages, Contract

Updated: 29 September 2022; Ref: scu.272531

Chong v Marek and Co: EAT 29 May 2003

EAT Unfair Dismissal – Reason for dismissal including substantial other reason.
Calculation of compensation for unfair dismissal.

Judges:

His Hon Judge McMullen QC

Citations:

[2003] UKEAT 0031 – 03 – 2905, EAT/31/03

Links:

Bailii, Bailii, EAT

Jurisdiction:

England and Wales

Citing:

See Also – Chong v Marek and Co EAT 25-Feb-2000
. .
See Also – Chong v Marek and Co EAT 12-Sep-2001
. .
See Also – Chong v Marek and Co EAT 23-Jan-2002
EAT Unfair Dismissal – Compensation. . .
Lists of cited by and citing cases may be incomplete.

Employment, Damages

Updated: 29 September 2022; Ref: scu.191560

Pattni v First Leicester Buses Ltd: CA 24 Nov 2011

The parties disputed the cost of a replacement car hired by the claimant following an accident. Aikens LJ recommended a structured approach: ‘Sub-issue (1): The Calculation of the BHR. The first question that arises is: what exercise is a judge conducting when he has to find the ‘spot rate’ or, as I prefer to call it, the BHR. I have already attempted to summarise, at [30] to [42] above, the principles that I think a judge has to apply, in accordance with the leading cases of Dimond v Lovell, Lagden v O’Connor and Burdis v Livsey. To summarise, the questions are: (i) did the claimant need to hire a replacement car at all; if so (ii) was it reasonable, in all the circumstances, to hire the particular type of car actually hired at the rate agreed; if it was, (iii) was the claimant ‘impecunious’; if not (iv) has the defendant proved a difference between the credit hire rate actually paid for the car hired and what, in the same broad geographical area, would have been the BHR for the model of car actually hired and if so what is it; if so, (v) what is the difference between the credit hire rate and the BHR?’

Judges:

Pill, Moore-Bick, Aikens LJJ

Citations:

[2011] EWCA Civ 1384, [2012] PIQR Q1

Links:

Bailii

Jurisdiction:

England and Wales

Damages

Updated: 28 September 2022; Ref: scu.449015

Suttle v Walker: QBD 18 Jan 2019

A joint award of pounds 40,000 was made for defamation and harassment in a case where the harassment alone justified an award at the upper end of the Vento scale [58], being a campaign in which the claimant was ‘clearly and deliberately targeted’ to create a ‘foreseeable response’ which was ‘vicious and frightening’ and ‘calculated to (and did) whip up hatred for the Claimant and put her in fear for her safety’. The ‘real . . reputational harm’ was adequately compensated within that award.

Citations:

[2019] EWHC 396 (QB)

Links:

Bailii

Jurisdiction:

England and Wales

Cited by:

Cited – Turley v Unite The Union and Another QBD 19-Dec-2019
Defamation of Labour MP by Unite and Blogger
The claimant now a former MP had alleged that a posting on a website supported by the first defendant was false and defamatory. The posting suggested that the claimant had acted dishonestly in applying online for a category of membership of the . .
Lists of cited by and citing cases may be incomplete.

Defamation, Information, Damages

Updated: 27 September 2022; Ref: scu.634223

Burgon MP v News Group Newspapers Ltd and Another: QBD 6 Feb 2019

Pounds 30,000 was awarded to an MP for an online article, published on a national newspaper website by a very prominent political correspondent, the Sun’s political editor, that meant that he ‘joined a band which as he knew took great pleasure in using Nazi symbols’. The imputation that he was prepared to associate himself with pleasure in Nazi symbols is substantially more serious for an MP.

Judges:

Dingemans J

Citations:

[2019] EWHC 195 (QB)

Links:

Bailii

Jurisdiction:

England and Wales

Cited by:

Cited – Turley v Unite The Union and Another QBD 19-Dec-2019
Defamation of Labour MP by Unite and Blogger
The claimant now a former MP had alleged that a posting on a website supported by the first defendant was false and defamatory. The posting suggested that the claimant had acted dishonestly in applying online for a category of membership of the . .
Lists of cited by and citing cases may be incomplete.

Defamation, Damages

Updated: 27 September 2022; Ref: scu.633237

Fentiman v Marsh: QBD 31 Jul 2019

The court awarded pounds 45,000 general damages and an additional pounds 10,000 in aggravated damages in respect of three posts containing allegations of computer hacking or strong grounds to suspect such conduct in the third post, published to approximately 100, 230 and 188 persons respectively on blogs. The separate aggravated damages award took account of several matters including that the publications were made against a background of earlier proceedings and the Defence asserted that the claimant was a liar.

Judges:

Richard Spearman QC HHJ

Citations:

[2019] EWHC 2099 (QB)

Links:

Bailii

Jurisdiction:

England and Wales

Cited by:

Cited – Turley v Unite The Union and Another QBD 19-Dec-2019
Defamation of Labour MP by Unite and Blogger
The claimant now a former MP had alleged that a posting on a website supported by the first defendant was false and defamatory. The posting suggested that the claimant had acted dishonestly in applying online for a category of membership of the . .
Lists of cited by and citing cases may be incomplete.

Defamation, Damages

Updated: 27 September 2022; Ref: scu.641717

Flymenow Ltd v Quick Air Jet Charter Gmbh: QBD 15 Dec 2016

Warby J awarded a claimant company general damages of pounds 10 for a libel suggesting that it was insolvent.

Judges:

Warby J

Citations:

[2016] EWHC 3197 (QB)

Links:

Bailii

Jurisdiction:

England and Wales

Citing:

Cited – John v MGN Ltd CA 12-Dec-1995
Defamation – Large Damages Awards
MGN appealed as to the level of damages awarded against it namely pounds 350,000 damages, comprising pounds 75,000 compensatory damages and pounds 275,000 exemplary damages. The newspaper contended that as a matter of principle there is no scope in . .

Cited by:

Cited – Turley v Unite The Union and Another QBD 19-Dec-2019
Defamation of Labour MP by Unite and Blogger
The claimant now a former MP had alleged that a posting on a website supported by the first defendant was false and defamatory. The posting suggested that the claimant had acted dishonestly in applying online for a category of membership of the . .
Lists of cited by and citing cases may be incomplete.

Defamation, Damages

Updated: 27 September 2022; Ref: scu.572637

Barron and Others v Collins: QBD 6 Feb 2017

Three MPs had sued in defamation after the defendant had wrongly accused them of knowing of the sexual exploitation of children in Rotherham without doing anything about it. Liability now being established, the court set out to assess the damages payable under an offer of amends.
Held: The court set starting points of pounds 10,000 for each slander, and pounds 50,000 for each act of defamation.
Warby J repeated that: ‘ . . special caution is required when it comes to deciding what is justified and proportionate by way of compensation for libels such as those in issue here, which are published by one politician about another on a topic of public interest. Politicians may in general have thicker skins than the average. Whether or not that is so in the individual case, they are expected to tolerate more than would be expected of others.’

Judges:

Warby J

Citations:

[2017] EWHC 162 (QB)

Links:

Bailii

Statutes:

Defamation Act 1996

Jurisdiction:

England and Wales

Cited by:

Cited – Turley v Unite The Union and Another QBD 19-Dec-2019
Defamation of Labour MP by Unite and Blogger
The claimant now a former MP had alleged that a posting on a website supported by the first defendant was false and defamatory. The posting suggested that the claimant had acted dishonestly in applying online for a category of membership of the . .
Lists of cited by and citing cases may be incomplete.

Defamation, Damages

Updated: 27 September 2022; Ref: scu.574091

Cox v Ergo Versicherung Ag and Another: QBD 28 Oct 2011

The deceased died in a road traffic accident whilst serving in the Armed forces in Germany. The driver was insured under German law. The widow now claimed damages in England. She had entered a new relationship.
Held: The object of section 844 of the German regulations was to restore the claimant to the financial position that she would have been in as a dependant of the deceased, but for his death, taking account of any subsequent benefits received which impact on the loss of dependancy, apart from insurance recoveries. These subsequent benefits may include the income that the claimant has made or would be likely to make by taking paid employment, together with any maintenance accruing to the claimant through her remarriage or through some other relationship following the birth of a child. ‘Fundamental to the foregoing, is a substantive requirement of German law: the duty to mitigate, such justifying ongoing reference to her earning capacity and to benefits accruing from remarriage or from a similar relationship.’
The defendants case was to be preferred, and the calculation of damages undertaken according to German Law.

Judges:

Sir Christopher Holland

Citations:

[2011] EWHC 2806 (QB)

Links:

Bailii

Statutes:

Private International Law (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 1995, Fatal Accidents Act 1976 1 3 4, European Communities (Rights against Insurers) Regulations 2002, Directive 2009/103/EC

Jurisdiction:

England and Wales

Citing:

Cited – Welsh Ambulance Services NHS Trust and Another v Williams CA 15-Feb-2008
The court considered the essential philosophy underwriting the 1976 Act. Smith LJ said: ‘nothing that a dependant (or for that matter anyone else) could do after death could either increase or decrease the dependency. The dependency is fixed at the . .
Cited – Roerig v Valiant Trawlers Ltd CA 28-Jan-2002
The claimant who was Dutch, was a widow of a fisherman who had died at sea. The question on appeal was ‘in assessing damages for loss of dependency should benefits resulting from the loss be deducted from the damages?’ The claimant’s position under . .
Cited – Harding v Wealands HL 5-Jul-2006
Claim in UK for Accident in Australia
The claimant had been a passenger in a car driven by his now partner. They had an accident in New South Wales. The car was insured in Australia. He sought leave to sue in England and Wales because Australian law would limit the damages.
Held: . .
Cited – FBTO Schadeverzekeringen v Jack Odenbreit ECJ 13-Dec-2007
ECJ Regulation (EC) No 44/2001 – Jurisdiction in matters relating to insurance – Liability insurance – Action brought by the injured party directly against the insurer – Rule of jurisdiction of the courts for the . .
Cited – Welsh Ambulance Services NHS Trust and Another v Williams CA 15-Feb-2008
The court considered the essential philosophy underwriting the 1976 Act. Smith LJ said: ‘nothing that a dependant (or for that matter anyone else) could do after death could either increase or decrease the dependency. The dependency is fixed at the . .
Cited – Maher and Another v Groupama Grand Est CA 12-Nov-2009
Two English claimants respectively suffered injury in a French road accident. They brought claims for damages against the French insurer of the other driver. Judgment on liability was entered by consent. There were issues as to the assessment of . .
Cited – Seward v The Vera Cruz HL 1884
The House was asked to rule upon the nature of a fatal accident claim as established by the 1846 Act, Lord Campbell’s Act – was it such as to be within the jurisdiction of the Admiralty Division?
Held: Earl of Selbourne LC said: ‘Lord . .

Cited by:

Appeal from – Cox v Ergo Versicherung Ag CA 25-Jun-2012
The deceased member of the armed forces had died in a road traffic accident in Germany. The parties didputed whether the principles governing the calculation of damages were those in the 1976 Act and UK law, or under German law.
Held: ‘There . .
See Also – Cox v Ergo Versicherung Ag and Another CA 19-Jul-2012
The deceased army officer had been injured in a road traffic accident in Germany. His widow brought proceedings in the UK, anticipating a better damages award than might be available in Germany. She had assigned certain elements of her claim to the . .
At first instance – Cox v Ergo Versicherung Ag SC 2-Apr-2014
The deceased army officer serving in Germany died while cycling when hit by a driver insured under German law. His widow, the claimant, being domiciled in England brought her action here, claiming for bereavement and loss of dependency. The Court . .
Lists of cited by and citing cases may be incomplete.

Personal Injury, Damages, European

Updated: 26 September 2022; Ref: scu.448154

Mayor and Commonalty and Citizens of the City of London and others v Intercede 1765 Ltd and Intercede 1766 Ltd: ChD 27 Jul 2005

Land had been acquired and planning permission obtained to erect a new commercial building. The claimants sought to enforce a covenant restricting the height of any new building.

Judges:

The Vice-Chancellor

Citations:

[2005] EWHC 1691 (Ch)

Links:

Bailii

Jurisdiction:

England and Wales

Land, Damages

Updated: 25 September 2022; Ref: scu.229038

ABB and Others v Milton Keynes Council: QBD 21 Oct 2011

The claimants, now adults, each claimed that as children, the defendant had known of the prolonged and serious sexual abuse they had suffered at the hands of their father when children, and that it had failed to protect them from it.

Judges:

Hampton J

Citations:

[2011] EWHC 2745 (QB)

Links:

Bailii

Cited by:

Cited – RAR v GGC QBD 10-Aug-2012
The claimant alleged that the defendant, her stepfather, had sexually and otherwise assaulted her when she was a child. He had pleaded guilty to one charge in 1978, and now said that the claim was out of time. The claimant sought the extension of . .
Lists of cited by and citing cases may be incomplete.

Negligence, Damages

Updated: 25 September 2022; Ref: scu.447531

Purnell v Business Magazine Ltd: CA 18 Apr 2007

The defendant appealed an award of damages for defamation.

Judges:

Chadwick, Laws LJJ, Evans-Lombe J

Citations:

[2007] EWCA Civ 744, [2008] 1 WLR 1

Links:

Bailii

Jurisdiction:

England and Wales

Cited by:

Cited – Cairns v Modi CA 31-Oct-2012
Three appeals against the levels of damages awards were heard together, and the court considered the principles to be applied.
Held: In assessing compensation following a libel, the essential question was how much loss and damage did the . .
Cited – Turley v Unite The Union and Another QBD 19-Dec-2019
Defamation of Labour MP by Unite and Blogger
The claimant now a former MP had alleged that a posting on a website supported by the first defendant was false and defamatory. The posting suggested that the claimant had acted dishonestly in applying online for a category of membership of the . .
Lists of cited by and citing cases may be incomplete.

Defamation, Damages

Updated: 22 September 2022; Ref: scu.258785

Trumm v Norman: QBD 29 Jan 2008

Judges:

Tugendhat J

Citations:

[2008] EWHC 116 (QB)

Links:

Bailii

Jurisdiction:

England and Wales

Cited by:

Cited – Turley v Unite The Union and Another QBD 19-Dec-2019
Defamation of Labour MP by Unite and Blogger
The claimant now a former MP had alleged that a posting on a website supported by the first defendant was false and defamatory. The posting suggested that the claimant had acted dishonestly in applying online for a category of membership of the . .
Lists of cited by and citing cases may be incomplete.

Defamation, Damages

Updated: 22 September 2022; Ref: scu.264062

Brunt and others v Southampton International Airport Ltd: CA 7 Feb 2005

The claimants lived near Southampton Airport. The airport was altered to allow larger aircraft to use it, and they claimed damages for the increased noise and disturbance. Land had been acquired for additional parking. The number of aircraft flying would not increase, though the number of passengers would.
Held: A claim for noise disturbance could not be raised via a claim arising from the increased parking spaces. That increase was not intended to raise the number of flights.

Judges:

Tuckey LJ, Neuberger LJ, Lord Justice Ward (dissenting)

Citations:

[2005] EWCA Civ 93, Times 15-Feb-2005

Links:

Bailii

Statutes:

Land Compensation Act 1973 9(6)

Jurisdiction:

England and Wales

Citing:

Cited – Regina (on the application of Gilbert) v Plymouth City Airport Limited; W W Thomas v Secretary of State for Transport, Environment and Regions CA 8-Feb-2001
The airport was the operator liable for compensation. The apron was extended to allow for two more helicopters to be based at the airport, and a neighbouring householder claimed compensation for loss to the value of his house. The Secretary’s . .
Cited – Sirius International Insurance Company (Publ) v FAI General Insurance Limited and others HL 2-Dec-2004
The appellant had taken certain insurance risks on behalf of the respondents, subject to banking indemnities. Disputes arose and were settled under a Tomlin order, which was now itself subject to challenge.
Held: The appeal was allowed. The . .
Cited – King v Telegraph Group Ltd CA 18-May-2004
The defendant appealed against interim costs orders made in the claim against it for defamation.
Held: The general power of cost capping measures available to courts were available also in defamation proceedings. The claimant was being . .
Lists of cited by and citing cases may be incomplete.

Land, Damages

Updated: 22 September 2022; Ref: scu.222556

Pamplin v Express Newspapers Ltd (2): CA 1988

In considering what evidence can be used in mitigation of damages in defamation, it is necessary to draw a distinction between evidence which is put forward to show that the plaintiff is a man of bad reputation and evidence which is already before the court on some other issue. Neill LJ set out rules for evidence which relates solely to the plaintiff’s bad reputation. First was that it must be evidence of the plaintiff’s general reputation and may not relate to specific acts of misconduct, and that the evidence must also relate to the relevant area or sector of the plaintiff’s reputation. Having referred to other rules, Neill LJ said that a defendant is also entitled to rely on any other evidence which is properly before the court and jury, including evidence which has been primarily directed to, for example, a plea of justification or fair comment.
‘There may be cases however where a Defendant who puts forward a defence of justification will be unable to prove sufficient facts or establish the defence . . Nevertheless the Defendant may be able to rely on such acts as he has proved to reduce the damages perhaps, almost to vanishing point’.
Neill LJ said: ‘But a defendant is also entitled to rely in mitigation of damages on any other evidence which is properly before the court and jury. This other evidence can include evidence which has been primarily directed to, for example, a plea of justification or fair comment. It is to be remembered that section 5 of the Defamation Act 1952 enables a defendant to succeed on the issue of liability even though he does not prove the truth of all the defamatory material of which complaint is made. The section is in these terms: ‘In an action for libel or slander in respect of words containing two or more distinct charges against the plaintiff, a defence of justification shall not fail by reason only that the truth of every charge is not proved if the words not proved to be true do not materially injure the plaintiff’s reputation having regard to the truth of the remaining charges.’
Section 6 of the Defamation Act 1952 contains a similar provision relating to the defence of fair comment, and it is to be noted that from the outset the defendants in the instant case pleaded that they intended to rely if necessary on sections 5 and 6. There may be many cases, however, where a defendant who puts forward a defence of justification will be unable to prove sufficient facts to establish the defence at common law and will also be unable to bring himself within the statutory extension of the defence contained in section 5 of The Defamation Act 1952. Nevertheless the defendant may be able to rely on such facts as he has proved to reduce the damages, perhaps almost to vanishing point. Thus a defence of partial justification, though it may not prevent the plaintiff from succeeding on the issue of liability, maybe of great importance on the issue of damages.’

Judges:

Neill LJ

Citations:

[1988] 1 WLR 116, [1988] 1 All ER 282

Statutes:

Defamation Act 1952 5 6

Jurisdiction:

England and Wales

Citing:

See Also – Pamplin v Express Newspapers Ltd 1985
A costs judge does not have any power to order discovery to be given: he does not have any power to override a right of privilege. But he has a duty if the respondent raises a relevant factual issue to require the claimant to prove the facts on . .

Cited by:

Cited – Basham v Gregory and Little Brown and Co CA 2-Jul-1998
The defendant sought a retrial of his action for defamation.
Held: The judge’s directions on meaning as to the respective contentions was correct, and also the allocation of the burden of proof. Whilst the court had reservations about the . .
See Also – Pamplin v Express Newspapers Ltd 1985
A costs judge does not have any power to order discovery to be given: he does not have any power to override a right of privilege. But he has a duty if the respondent raises a relevant factual issue to require the claimant to prove the facts on . .
Cited – Grobbelaar v News Group Newspapers Ltd and Another CA 18-Jan-2001
The claimant had been awarded andpound;85,000 damages in defamation after the defendant had wrongly accused him of cheating at football. The newspaper sought to appeal saying that the verdict was perverse and the defence of qualified privilege . .
Cited – Grobbelaar v News Group Newspapers Ltd and Another HL 24-Oct-2002
The claimant appealed against a decision of the Court of Appeal quashing the judgement in his favour for damages for defamation.
Held: The Court of Appeal was not able to quash a jury verdict as perverse, and the appeal succeeded. An appellate . .
Cited – Robins v Kordowski and Another QBD 22-Jul-2011
The claimant solicitor said he had been defamed on the first defendant’s website (‘Solicitors from Hell’) by the second defendant. The first defendant now applied to set aside judgment entered by default. The claimant additionally sought summary . .
Cited – Atkinson v Fitzwalter CA 25-Mar-1987
A court should not grant leave to amend a pleading into a form which is liable to be struck out. The more serious the allegation that is made, the more clearly satisfied must the Court be that no prejudice will be caused that cannot be compensated . .
Cited – McDonalds Corp and Another v Steel and Another CA 25-Mar-1994
The plaintiff company had sued the defendants in defamation with regard to a leaflet publishd and distributed by them. The defendants argued justification. The defendants appealed against an order striking out parts of their defence, saying that the . .
Cited – Turner v News Group Newspapers Ltd and Another CA 16-May-2006
Application to determine compensation for admitted defamation.
Keene LJ considered both Pamplin and Burstein as bases for reliance upon other ‘misconduct’ of a claimant to reduce damages: ‘it needs to be borne in mind that the principle of . .
Cited – Dhir v Saddler QBD 6-Dec-2017
Slander damages reduced for conduct
Claim in slander. The defendant was said, at a church meeting to have accused the client of threatening to slit her throat. The defendant argued that the audience of 80 was not large enough.
Held: ‘the authorities demonstrate that it is the . .
Cited – Turley v Unite The Union and Another QBD 19-Dec-2019
Defamation of Labour MP by Unite and Blogger
The claimant now a former MP had alleged that a posting on a website supported by the first defendant was false and defamatory. The posting suggested that the claimant had acted dishonestly in applying online for a category of membership of the . .
Lists of cited by and citing cases may be incomplete.

Defamation, Damages

Updated: 22 September 2022; Ref: scu.185254

Burstein v Times Newspapers Ltd: CA 20 Dec 2000

Where a defendant in a defamation action sought to reduce the damages payable by arguing that the claimant had a reduced or damaged reputation, he could include evidence about particular facts only where these were directly connected to the background circumstances which led to the offending publication. General evidence was admissible, but particular evidence of facts about the claimant’s character and behaviour was only relevant to the extent that it affected the issue of the damages occasioned by the publication at issue.
May LJ said: ‘Permitting the defendants to rely on the directly relevant background contents in the way in which I have described would not offend anything said in Scott v Samsung 8 QBD 491 or Speidel v Plato Films Limited [1961] AC 1090. The material to which I have referred as directly relevant background context was, as I have indicated, recognised in Speidel v Plato Films Limited as being admissible as the circumstances in which the publication came to be made. In the present case, those circumstances are not sensibly limited to the concert in memory of John Smith and the fact that the claimant’s music was played at it. For practical purposes, every publication has a contextual background, even if the publication is substantially untrue. In addition, the evidence which Scott v Samsung excludes is particular evidence of general reputation, character or disposition which is not directly connected with the subject matter of the defamatory publication. It does not exclude evidence of directly relevant background context. To the extent that evidence of this kind may also be characterised as evidence of the claimant’s reputation, it is admissible because it is directly relevant to the damage which he claims has been caused by the defamatory publication.’

Judges:

May LJ

Citations:

Times 31-Jan-2001, Gazette 22-Feb-2001, [2000] EWCA Civ 338, [2001] 1 WLR 579, [2001] EMLR 14

Links:

Bailii

Jurisdiction:

England and Wales

Cited by:

Cited – Turner v News Group Newspapers Ltd and Another CA 16-May-2006
Dispute as to quantification of damages for libel. An offer of amends had been made, but the parties could not agree the sum payable. . .
Cited – Kaschke v Gray and Another QBD 23-Jul-2010
The claimant sought damages in defamation saying that the defendants had published a web page which falsely associated her with a terrorist gang in the 1970s. The defendants now sought a strike out of her claim as an abuse saying that a similar . .
Explained – Turner v News Group Newspapers Ltd and Another CA 16-May-2006
Application to determine compensation for admitted defamation.
Keene LJ considered both Pamplin and Burstein as bases for reliance upon other ‘misconduct’ of a claimant to reduce damages: ‘it needs to be borne in mind that the principle of . .
Cited – Hunt v Evening Standard Ltd QBD 18-Feb-2011
The defamation claimant sought that certain paragraphs of the defence should be struck out.
Held: Several paragraphs of the defence were struck out, and others left. . .
Cited – Robins v Kordowski and Another QBD 22-Jul-2011
The claimant solicitor said he had been defamed on the first defendant’s website (‘Solicitors from Hell’) by the second defendant. The first defendant now applied to set aside judgment entered by default. The claimant additionally sought summary . .
Main Judgment – Burstein v Times Newspapers Ltd SCCO 28-Nov-2002
. .
Cited – Dhir v Saddler QBD 6-Dec-2017
Slander damages reduced for conduct
Claim in slander. The defendant was said, at a church meeting to have accused the client of threatening to slit her throat. The defendant argued that the audience of 80 was not large enough.
Held: ‘the authorities demonstrate that it is the . .
Cited – Turley v Unite The Union and Another QBD 19-Dec-2019
Defamation of Labour MP by Unite and Blogger
The claimant now a former MP had alleged that a posting on a website supported by the first defendant was false and defamatory. The posting suggested that the claimant had acted dishonestly in applying online for a category of membership of the . .
Lists of cited by and citing cases may be incomplete.

Defamation, Damages

Updated: 22 September 2022; Ref: scu.147371

Slipper v British Broadcasting Corporation: CA 1990

The plaintiff, a retired policeman was featured in a film about the Great Train Robbery. He sought to say that paper reviews of the film, and trailers worked to spread the libel, and should count in the assessment of damages against the defendant, who in turn sought to have that leading struck out.
Held: Whether reviews and trailers should affect the damages was a matter of fact and for the jury alone. It was not appropriate to strike it out. The plaintiff would be in a position to prove at trial that the passages from the reviews repeated the defamatory sting of the film, and that the defendant could have reasonably foreseen that they would.
Bingham LJ said: ‘The law would part company with the realities of life if it held that the damage caused by publication of a libel began and ended with publication to the original publishee. Defamatory statements are objectionable not least because of their propensity to percolate through underground channels and contaminate hidden springs.’

Judges:

Bingham LJ

Citations:

[1991] 1 QB 283, [1990] 3 WLR 967

Jurisdiction:

England and Wales

Citing:

Distinguished – Weld-Blundell v Stephens HL 1920
A physical cause may be irrelevant as a matter of law. The law is concerned not with causation, but with responsibility. Lord Sumner said: ‘more than half of human kind are tale-bearers by nature’.
Where a legal wrong was committed without loss . .

Cited by:

Approved – McManus and others v Beckham CA 4-Jul-2002
The claimant sought damages from the defendant who was a pop star, and had vociferously, publicly, and wrongly accused the claimant of selling pictures with fake autographs of her husband. The defendant obtained an order striking out the claim on . .
Cited – Budu v The British Broadcasting Corporation QBD 23-Mar-2010
The defendant sought to strike out the claimant’s action in defamation. It had reported that the police had withdrawn an employment offer to claimant after doubting his immigration status.
Held: The claims should be struck out. The articles . .
Cited – Baturina v Times Newspapers Ltd QBD 31-Mar-2010
The claimant sought damages in defamation in respect of an article published by the defendant newspaper. She was the wife of the Mayor of Moscow, and was required to disclose on a public list assets held by her. The defendant said that she owned a . .
Cited – Bowman v MGN Ltd QBD 26-Apr-2010
The claimant complained of an article on the defendant’s web-site. The defendant offered an unqualified offer of amends. The court was asked to settle an amount of compensation. Though the article was removed within a few hours and upon receipt of . .
Cited – Cairns v Modi CA 31-Oct-2012
Three appeals against the levels of damages awards were heard together, and the court considered the principles to be applied.
Held: In assessing compensation following a libel, the essential question was how much loss and damage did the . .
Cited – Dhir v Saddler QBD 6-Dec-2017
Slander damages reduced for conduct
Claim in slander. The defendant was said, at a church meeting to have accused the client of threatening to slit her throat. The defendant argued that the audience of 80 was not large enough.
Held: ‘the authorities demonstrate that it is the . .
Cited – Turley v Unite The Union and Another QBD 19-Dec-2019
Defamation of Labour MP by Unite and Blogger
The claimant now a former MP had alleged that a posting on a website supported by the first defendant was false and defamatory. The posting suggested that the claimant had acted dishonestly in applying online for a category of membership of the . .
Lists of cited by and citing cases may be incomplete.

Defamation, Damages

Updated: 22 September 2022; Ref: scu.182071

Rantzen v Mirror Group Newspapers (1986) Ltd and Others: CA 1 Apr 1993

Four articles in the People all covered the same story about Esther Rantzen’s organisation, Childline, suggesting that the plaintiff had protected a teacher who had revealed to Childline abuses of children occurring at a school where he taught, by keeping secret that he himself was a pervert, unfit to have any child in his care. The suggestion was that Miss Rantzen had protected the teacher as a reward for his help. In so doing she had abandoned her own moral standards; her public statements of concern for abused children were insincere and hypocritical, and that she had lied when informing the newspaper that publication of the story would hamper the police investigation when the truth was that she wished to avoid exposure of her own misconduct and omissions. The defendant pleaded justification and lost.
Held: Juries in defamation actions may be referred to Court of Appeal decisions on libel quantum awards to help them assess their own award. The 1990 Act allowed the Court of Appeal to make its own awards in cases in which that of the jury had been held to be excessive. Article 10(2) which required that any restrictions on freedom of speech should be ‘prescribed by law’ and ‘necessary in a democratic society’, required that awards of damages for libel should be more controlled and predictable than they were. Leaving the award to a unguided jury and refusing to interfere unless the damages were such that ‘no twelve men could reasonably have given them’ might not comply either with the principle of legal certainty or the requirement of proportionality. ‘ . . . it seems to us that the grant of an almost limitless discretion to a jury fails to provide a satisfactory measurement for deciding what is ‘necessary in a democratic society’ or ‘justified by a pressing social need.’ We consider therefore that the common law properly understood requires the courts to subject large awards of damages to a more searching scrutiny than has been customary in the past. It follows that what has been regarded as the barrier against intervention should be lowered. The question becomes: ‘could a reasonable jury have thought that this award was necessary to compensate the plaintiff and to re-establish his reputation?” The Court of Appeal reduced the jury’s award of andpound;250,000 to andpound;110,000.

Judges:

Neill LJ, Staughton LJ, Roch LJ

Citations:

Times 06-Apr-1993, Independent 01-Apr-1993, [1994] QB 670, [1993] 4 All ER 975, [1993] EWCA Civ 16

Links:

Bailii

Statutes:

Courts and Legal Services Act 1990, European Convention on Human Rights 10(2)

Jurisdiction:

England and Wales

Citing:

Approved – Sutcliffe v Pressdram Ltd CA 1991
A 600,000 pound compensatory award was set aside by the Court of Appeal on the grounds that it must have been made on the wrong basis, almost certainly so as to punish Private Eye. The Court of Appeal could not substitute its own award for that of a . .
Disapproved – McCarey v Associated Newspapers Ltd (No 2) CA 1965
References to damages awards in personal injury actions were legitimate in directing a defamation jury on quantum. . .
Cited – The Sunday Times (No 1) v The United Kingdom ECHR 26-Apr-1979
Offence must be ;in accordance with law’
The court considered the meaning of the need for an offence to be ‘in accordance with law.’ The applicants did not argue that the expression prescribed by law required legislation in every case, but contended that legislation was required only where . .
Cited – The Sunday Times v The United Kingdom (No 2) ECHR 26-Nov-1991
Any prior restraint on freedom of expression calls for the most careful scrutiny. ‘Freedom of expression constitutes one of the essential foundations of a democratic society subject to paragraph (2) of Article 10. It is applicable not only to . .

Cited by:

Cited – Kiam v MGN Ltd CA 28-Jan-2002
Where a court regards a jury award in a defamation case as excessive, a ‘proper’ award can be substituted for it is not whatever sum court thinks appropriate, wholly uninfluenced by jury’s view, but the highest award which a jury could reasonably . .
Cited – Gleaner Company Ltd and Another v Abrahams PC 14-Jul-2003
Punitive Defamation Damages Order Sustained
(Jamaica) The appellants challenged a substantial award of damages for defamation. They had wrongfully accused a government minister of corruption. There was evidence of substantial financial loss. ‘For nearly sixteen years the defendants, with all . .
Cited – Collins Stewart Ltd and Another v The Financial Times Ltd QBD 20-Oct-2004
The claimants sought damages for defamation. The claimed that the article had caused very substantial losses (andpound;230 million) to them by affecting their market capitalisation value. The defendant sought to strike out that part of the claim. . .
Cited – Watkins v Home Office and others HL 29-Mar-2006
The claimant complained of misfeasance in public office by the prisons for having opened and read protected correspondence whilst he was in prison. The respondent argued that he had suffered no loss. The judge had found that bad faith was . .
Cited – Rowlands v Chief Constable of Merseyside Police CA 20-Dec-2006
The claimant succeeded in her claims for general damages against the respondent for personal injury, false imprisonment and malicious prosecution, but appealed refusal of the court to award aggravated damages against the chief constable.
Held: . .
Cited – Hurst, Regina (on the Application of) v Commissioner of Police of the Metropolis v London Northern District Coroner HL 28-Mar-2007
The claimant’s son had been stabbed to death. She challenged the refusal of the coroner to continue with the inquest with a view to examining the responsibility of any of the police in having failed to protect him.
Held: The question amounted . .
Cited – Lumba (WL) v Secretary of State for The Home Department SC 23-Mar-2011
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 . .
Cited – Kelly (A Minor) v British Broadcasting Corporation FD 25-Jul-2000
K, aged 16, had left home to join what was said to be a religious sect. His whereabouts were unknown. He had been made a ward of court and the Official Solicitor was appointed to represent his interests. He had sent messages to say that he was well . .
Cited – Cairns v Modi CA 31-Oct-2012
Three appeals against the levels of damages awards were heard together, and the court considered the principles to be applied.
Held: In assessing compensation following a libel, the essential question was how much loss and damage did the . .
Cited – Dhir v Saddler QBD 6-Dec-2017
Slander damages reduced for conduct
Claim in slander. The defendant was said, at a church meeting to have accused the client of threatening to slit her throat. The defendant argued that the audience of 80 was not large enough.
Held: ‘the authorities demonstrate that it is the . .
Cited – Turley v Unite The Union and Another QBD 19-Dec-2019
Defamation of Labour MP by Unite and Blogger
The claimant now a former MP had alleged that a posting on a website supported by the first defendant was false and defamatory. The posting suggested that the claimant had acted dishonestly in applying online for a category of membership of the . .
Lists of cited by and citing cases may be incomplete.

Defamation, Damages, Human Rights

Updated: 22 September 2022; Ref: scu.85667