The question was whether, in order to recover damages for the tort which existed, it was necessary to show specific loss.
Held: An action for damages for maintenance will not lie in the absence of proof of special damage.
Lord Finlay LC, Lord Shaw of Dunfermline and Lord Phillimore, Lord Finlay
[1919] AC 368
England and Wales
Citing:
Cited – Ashby v White KBD 1703
Mr Ashby a burgess of the borough of Aylesbury was deprived of his right to vote by the misfeasance of a returning officer.
Held: The majority rejected the claim.
Lord Holt CJ (dissenting) An action would lie: ‘If the plaintiff has a . .
Cited – Marzetti v Williams 1830
A finding of a beach of contract implies that some remedy will be available. . .
Cited – Embrey v Owen 1851
Parke B said: ‘It was very ably argued before us by the learned counsel for the plaintiffs that the plaintiffs had a right to the full flow of the water in its natural course and abundance, as an incident to their property in the land through which . .
Cited – Beaumont v Greathead 1846
‘Nominal damages are a mere peg on which to hang costs . . Nominal damages, in fact, mean a sum of money that may be spoken of, but that has no existence in point of quantity.’ . .
Cited by:
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 – Watkins v Secretary of State for The Home Departmentand others CA 20-Jul-2004
The claimant complained that prison officers had abused the system of reading his solicitor’s correspondence whilst he was in prison. The defendant argued that there was no proof of damage.
Held: Proof of damage was not necessary in the tort . .
Lists of cited by and citing cases may be incomplete.
Torts – Other
Updated: 16 December 2021; Ref: scu.186666