News Category 3
The Icing on the Cake: Proximity Needed to Establish a Duty - Ivor Collett, 1 Chancery Lane
03/01/14. The Court of Appeal has just overturned a decision in which a surveyor was found jointly liable for personal injuries suffered by some members of the public who were struck by part of a shop sign which fell onto the pavement on Putney High Street. The Court has reversed the trial judge’s finding that the surveyor owed a duty of care to the injured claimants, stressing the need for proximity, not just foreseeability of harm, to be made out to establish a duty of care.
The shop was a branch of Maison Blanc, the French patisserie. The surveyor had been acting for Maison Blanc’s landlord as contract administrator in relation to some refurbishment works carried out to the front of the building. A Maison Blanc manager contacted the surveyor to ask him to come and see if those works might have damaged an awning at the front of the shop. The allegation against the surveyor was that...
Image ©iStockphoto.com/RuthBlack
Motorcyclists: Overtaking the Queue and Junctions, Jones v Lawton [2013] EWHC 4108 (QB) - Pankaj Madan, Exchange Chambers & 12 King’s Bench Walk
02/01/14. It is indeed reassuring that despite the decisions of the Courts in relation to Civil Procedure, some cases at least are still making it to trial. One such little noticed case reported on 6th January 2014 is the decision of the High Court of Justice in Jones v Lawton which is a useful case for anybody advising in similar circumstances.
Mr Jones was riding a low slung motorcycle along the A386 one of the main routes into and out of Plymouth as the Judge found at the speed limit of 30 mph. He was overtaking two queues of traffic in the northbound lanes and was over the white lines using the southbound lane to travel northbound.
Mr Lawton meanwhile having observed that cars had stopped from his right and having a clear view to his left pulled out across the path of the Claimant in order to turn right. He did not stop or edge out gradually beyond the line of traffic and he didn’t listen for traffic that he could not see by winding his window down...
Image ©iStockphoto.com/creepers888
When Defendants Treat Us Like Fools - Bill Braithwaite QC, Head of Exchange Chambers
31/12/13. Negotiation is a large part of what I do, and I'm always fascinated by the process. Training for personal injury barristers is limited, partly because our negotiations deal only with money. Generally, we can't construct a global deal which meets different expectations and satisfies varying demands. As claimant lawyers, we simply have to accept or reject offers made by the defence team...
Image ©iStockphoto.com/BrianAJackson
'Plebgate', Budgets, Relief From Sanctions and a New Kind of Justice - Ian Miller, 1 Chancery Lane
29/12/13.The Court of Appeal have now finally had their say on the Jackson Reforms: "...we hope that our decision will send out a clear message". The message is that a "new more robust approach..." has arrived. Failure to file a costs budget in time will result in parties being "treated as having filed a budget comprising only the applicable court fees" and relief from sanctions will only be granted where there has been a "trivial breach" or where there is a "good reason". The new approach "will mean that from now on relief from sanctions should be granted more sparingly than previously".
Mr Mitchell's case (Andrew Mitchell MP v News Group Newspapers Limited [2013] EWCA Civ 1526) provided the perfect vehicle for the Court of Appeal. The Sun newspaper had reported that Mr Mitchell had engaged in a foul mouthed rant against police officers. Mr Mitchell issued proceedings alleging defamation on 7th March 2013. A CMC and costs budget hearing was fixed for 18th June 2013. On 17th June Master McCloud sent an e-mail to the parties' solicitors noting there was...
Image ©iStockphoto.com/olaser
Woodland v Essex CC: Can the Duty of Care Owed to a Pupil by a School Be Delegated by the School to a Third Party? - Catherine Leech, Pannone LLP
28/12/13. Following a landmark decision in the Supreme Court, the extent to which a school can avoid liability to a pupil where third parties are involved has been determined. It is now clear a school authority has a duty of care to a pupil that is non-delegable – so if they contract out key services to third parties who are negligent, the school will be liable for that negligence to the pupil. This is a significant development in tort law. As Lady Hale confirms, the Supreme Court “are accepting an invitation to develop the law beyond the point which it has currently reached in this jurisdiction”.
In 2000 Annie Woodland was a primary school pupil who went to school at Whitmore Junior School a healthy, happy 10 year old. She was in a hospital bed with brain damage at the end of the school day. Annie had suffered a near drowning incident during the course of a school swimming lesson held at the local swimming baths. The lesson was part of the national curriculum. The children were taught by swimming teachers from Direct Swimming Services (DSS), a firm run by Beryl Stopford. She engaged various people to be swimming teachers and life guards. It transpires that several of these...
Image ©iStockphoto.com/clubfoto
More Articles...
- A Costs Budgeting Horror Story - Tom Gibson, Outer Temple Chambers
- Local Standards for Local People: the decision in Japp v Virgin Holidays Limited [2013] EWCA Civ 1371 - Sarah Prager, 1 Chancery Lane
- PI Practitioner, December 2013
- The Choice of RTA or EL/PL Protocol - Matthew Hoe, Jaggards & Taylor Rose Law
![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)
