The claimant had been employed by the defendant as editor of a newspaper. On leaving they entered into an agreement which the claimant said required the defendant to pay his legal costs in any action arising regarding his editorship. The defendant had later refused to do so, saying that it was not obliged to pay fees in respect of unlawful conduct.
Held: The claim failed. Applying the principle of ex turpi cause non oritur actio, the contract did not give an indemnity to the claimant in respect of the costs of preparing to defend the criminal proceedings, which in any event, as yet, had not commenced.
Supperstone J
[2011] EWHC 3482 (QB)
Bailii
England and Wales
Citing:
Mentioned – Clouston and Company Limited v Corry PC 1-Dec-1905
(New Zealand) . .
Mentioned – Laws v London Chronicle (Indicator Newspapers) Ltd CA 1959
Lord Evershed MR discussed the justification for summary dismissal: ‘It follows that the question must be whether the conduct complained of is such as to show the servant to have disregarded the essential conditions of the contract of service. One . .
Mentioned – Sinclair v Neighbour CA 1967
The manager of a betting shop took andpound;15 from the shop till for the purpose of gambling; he knew that he would not have been given permission to do so if he had asked. He put an IOU in the till and repaid the money next day. He was summarily . .
Mentioned – Lewis v Motorworld Garages Ltd CA 1985
The court considered the circumstances under which an employee might resign and successfully claim constructive dismissal.
Glidewell LJ said: ‘This breach of this implied obligation of trust and confidence may consist of a series of action on . .
Cited – Investors Compensation Scheme Ltd v West Bromwich Building Society HL 19-Jun-1997
Account taken of circumstances wihout ambiguity
The respondent gave advice on home income plans. The individual claimants had assigned their initial claims to the scheme, but later sought also to have their mortgages in favour of the respondent set aside.
Held: Investors having once . .
Cited – Neary and Neary v Dean of Westminster 9-Jun-1999
Financial wrong-doing short of dishonesty can be a basis for summary dismissal. Gross misconduct sufficient to justify dismissal must in the particular circumstances so undermine the trust and confidence of an employer that he should no longer be . .
Cited – Maga v The Trustees of The Birmingham Archdiocese of The Roman Catholic Church CA 16-Mar-2010
The claimant appealed against rejection of his claim for damages after alleging sexual abuse by a catholic priest. The judge had found the church not vicariously liable for the injuries, and that the archdiocese had not been under a duty further to . .
Cited – Brink’s Global Services Inc and Others v Igrox Ltd and Another CA 27-Oct-2010
There was a sufficiently close connection between an employee’s theft of silver from a customer’s container and the purpose of his employment to make it fair and just that his employer be held vicariously liable for his actions. Moore-Bick LJ said: . .
Cited – Regina v Brentwood Justices ex parte Jones QBD 1979
Proceedings had begun by arrest without warrant. Lord Widgery CJ said: ‘that the proceedings commenced when the suspect was taken to the police station pursuant to such arrest, and when he was formally charged in the presence of a station officer, . .
Cited – Regina v Elliott CACD 1985
The defendant was faced with a charge under the 1882 Act. The prosecution required that the consent of the Attorney-General be given before proceedings commenced. The consent was only given after he had been charged, but before the trial.
Cited – Hick v Raymond and Reid HL 1893
The House was asked whether the consignee of a cargo was in breach of a contractual obligation to discharge the relevant vessel within a reasonable time, that is to say, a single obligation to do something within a reasonable time, rather than an . .
Cited – Safeway Stores Ltd and Others v Twigger and Others CA 21-Dec-2010
The court was asked whether, when a company had been fined for anti-competitive practices, the company could then recover the penalties from the directors and senior employees involved.
Held: The undertaking was not entitled to recover the . .
Cited – Cadder v Her Majesty’s Advocate SC 26-Oct-2010
Statement without lawyer access was inadmissible
The accused complained that he had been convicted for assault and breach of the peace on the basis of a statement made by him during an interview with the police where, under the 1995 Act, he had been denied access to a lawyer.
Held: The . .
Cited – Maga v The Trustees of The Birmingham Archdiocese of The Roman Catholic Church QBD 22-Apr-2009
There was a sufficiently close connection between the employment of a priest at the church and the abuse which he inflicted on the claimant to render it fair and just to impose vicarious liability for the abuse on his employer, the Archdiocese. . .
Cited – Askey v Golden Wine Co Ltd 1948
Denning J said: ‘It is, I think, a principle of our law that the punishment inflicted by a criminal court is personal to the offender, and that the civil courts will not entertain an action by the offender to recover an indemnity against the . .
Cited – Salduz v Turkey ECHR 27-Nov-2008
(Grand Chamber) The applicant had been taken into custody before he was interrogated during his detention by police officers of the anti-terrorism branch of the Izmir Security Directorate.
Held: There had been a violation of art 6(3)(c) of the . .
Cited – Hale, Regina (On the Application of) v North Sefton Justices Admn 14-Jan-2002
The court considered the words ‘in the proceedings’ in Regulation 7 of the 1986 Regulations. One issue was whether claims for attendance on the claimant prior to charge are for expenses incurred by the claimant ‘in the proceedings’. The court . .
Cited – Corbett v Barking Havering and Brentwood Health Authority CA 1991
The Claimant was a child who would have been dependant on his deceased young mother only until adulthood. When the trial took place the infant Plaintiff was 11.5 with a dependency until the age of 18. As the multiplier calculated as at the date of . .
Lists of cited by and citing cases may be incomplete.
Contract, Torts – Other
Updated: 12 January 2022; Ref: scu.450158