News Category 2
Prima Facie 'Fraudulent' Costs Claims Not to Be Struck Out Without Trial - Alex Bagnall, Just Costs Solicitors
14/12/15. The Court of Appeal has dealt with the question of how Courts should handle with allegations of the fraudulent misclaiming of costs where there is strong prima facie evidence in support of the allegations. In Alpha Rocks Solicitors v Alade [2015] EWCA Civ 685 the Defendant had been a client of the Claimant firm of solicitors in relation to a number of disputes. The Defendant had sought to challenge the costs that had been billed to him. Two of the bills raised by the Claimant had caused the Defendant particular concern.
The first related to a County Court claim brought against the Defendant by his brother (“the Rufus Claim”) in which the costs were said to be £131,514.56. The second related to a claim brought against the Defendant by his wife before the Adjudicator to HM Land Registry (“the Catherine Claim”) in which costs were said to be £43,732.50.
It was the Defendant’s position that the Claimant’s case was based on documents which had been fabricated and that the bills included time which had been deliberately exaggerated. The Defendant had considered that the claims for costs were so tainted by the Claimant’s misconduct that they should be struck out...
Image ©iStockphoto.com/firebrandphotography
Predictably Unpredictable: Fatal Claims in Scotland Remain Inconsistent and Uncertain - Andrew Lothian, DWF
13/12/15. Young v MacVean, Inner House, Court of Session, 29 September 2015. It had been thought that Currie v Esure (2014) might operate as benchmark for awards in fatal cases in Scotland. That hope for clarity has however been set back by yet another fatal award which has introduced further uncertainty. The recent Inner House (appeal court) decision of Young v MacVean (2015), on almost identical facts, upheld an award nearly double that in Currie.
Background
In Currie the parents of a 25 year old man were each awarded £42,000, and their appeal against that award failed. In Young, the award to the mother of a 26 year old man was £80,000 was upheld on appeal. Clearly the two positions appear inconsistent...
Image ©iStockphoto.com/catenarymedia
Stroke Caused by Beauty Facial Case Settles - Kiril Waite, 1 Chancery Lane
09/12/15. Claims against negligent beauticians and the like are not altogether uncommon. The injuries tend to be dermatological in nature consequent of some allergic reaction to an untested product. But who would have thought it possible, let alone likely, for someone to suffer a stroke as a result of a beauty facial treatment?
Tragically that is what happened to Elizabeth Hughes after her visit to the spa at the Eastwell Manor Hotel. What should have been a weekend treat resulted in a serious stroke that left her disabled for life. Her claim, which otherwise would have been tried in the High Court this week, settled for an undisclosed amount...
Image cc flickr.com/photos/129941959@N06/16286497322
Court of Appeal Highlights the Importance of Not Imposing an Unrealistic Duty of Care on Motorists - Peter Blake, DWF
07/12/15. Horner v Norman, Court of Appeal, 21 October 2015. In this case which recently came before the Court of Appeal. It was the claimant pedestrian’s appeal against the High Court’s dismissal of his claim arising out of a road traffic accident in January 2010. In a judgment unanimously upholding the first instance decision, the Court of Appeal provides a useful reminder of the importance of not imposing an unrealistic level of duty on motorists and demonstrates that expert evidence will not necessarily be determinative when high quality lay evidence is adduced.
Background
On 12 January 2010 the claimant pedestrian ran across a dual-carriageway road and was knocked down by a car driven by the defendant. The evidence before the High Court at first instance was that the claimant had sprinted from the nearside kerb and that it had taken him about 2 seconds to reach the point of impact. The claimant had almost managed to cross the entire two lanes, but unfortunately the front offside of the defendant’s car struck his trailing leg and the claimant was thrown on to the bonnet and against the windscreen before coming to rest in the central reservation...
Image ©iStockphoto.com/unaemlag
Loss of Earnings and Disability in the Labour Market for Injuries Arising as a Result of Sexual Abuse - Gordon Exall, Zenith Chambers & Hardwicke
02/12/15. 
In BDA -v- Domenico Quirino [2015] EWHC 2974 (QB) His Honour Judge Wood considered the issue of loss of earnings in the case of a victim of sexual abuse. The claimant had suffered from systematic sexual abuse from the defendant, her karate instructor, for five years. She had a good educational history and aspired to study medicine. She left school during her A levels (as a result of the impact of the abuse) but later studied at college and obtained a degree in biomedical science with first-class honours. However during her PHD years she began to use the university counselling services. This led to the claimant reporting the matter to the police and a prosecution. The prosecution caused a deterioration in the claimant’s health and studies. However she re-started her PHD. She felt she had lost three years in higher education...
Image cc http://www.flickr.com/photos/54591706@N02/5148710483
![Appeal judge rules that credit hire company has no costs liability following a finding of fundamental dishonesty in personal injury case: RSA v. Fastrack Solutions Limited [2023] 4 WLUK 92 - David Bowden, Erimus Chambers](/content/images/resized/images/stories/carkeys_72_72.jpg)
