News Category 3
Credit Hire & Caveat Emptor: Let the Buyer Beware - Geoffrey Simpson-Scott, Colemans-ctts
19/04/15. The recent case of Karl Stevens v Equity Syndicate Management Ltd [2015] EWCA Civ 93 has generated a considerable amount of comment. Much of this is understandably along the lines of the new approach to valuing the spot rate/Basic Hire Charge sounding the death knell for Credit Hire Organisations.
What appears to have been overlooked by the Court of Appeal, however, is the ultimate effect on the consumer. Mr Stevens entered into the credit hire agreement because he would have lost his no claims bonus had he claimed the replacement hire car under his own insurance. That decision does not appear to have been unreasonable. These agreements are usually characterised by terms which require the Claimant to pay the full sum to the credit hire company if this is not recovered in full from the Defendant’s insurer. As will be well recognised, motor insurers have a significant degree of control over both sides of the litigation as all drivers need insurance.
The net effect of Stevens is that it seems likely that less than then local average spot rate is now recoverable. Whilst it may well result in credit hire companies revisiting their business models (which is probably no bad thing) it also creates...
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Rad Hamed - Mark Bowman & Rebecca Drew, Fieldfisher
18/04/15. In August 2006 at the age of 17, Radwan was playing his first game for Tottenham Hotspur's youth team when he suffered a devastating heart attack six minutes into the game. Radwan's career was tragically brought to an abrupt end as he suffered catastrophic brain damage as a result of oxygen starvation.
At 23 years old, Radwan is unable to live independently and his life is a far cry from what it could have been had warning signs been properly monitored by the club and their medical staff. It was alleged that Tottenham Hotspur and Consultant Cardiologist Dr Peter Mills, failed in their duty of care to Radwan by missing warning signs that he had a condition linked to an increased risk of cardiac arrest among young sportsmen, an allegation they were recently found liable of. The condition Radwan suffered from is known as 'hypertrophic cardiomyopathy'.
Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy is a genetic condition caused by a change or mutation in one or more of a person's genes. It is an inherited disease of the heart muscles where the muscle wall of the heart becomes thickened. While how thick and how much of the muscle is affected varies in individuals, the left ventricle is almost always affected. The thickening of the muscles makes it harder for the heart to pump blood out of the heart to the rest of the body. Common symptoms can be...
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Summary of Recent Cases, April 2015
15/04/15. Here is a summary of the recent notable court cases over the past month. You can also receive these for free by registering for our PI Brief Update newsletter. Just select "Free Newsletter" from the menu at the top of this page and fill in your email address..
Summary of Recent Cases - Substantive Law
Dalton v BT [2015] EWHC 616 (QB)
Claims were brought by present and former employees against BT for noise-induced hearing loss (NIHL) alleged to have been caused by exposure to excessive noise at work...
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Insurers Win the Latest Round in Credit Hire Match - Jasmine Murphy, Hardwicke
13/04/15. The Insurers have won the most recent bout in what has been an ongoing slugfest between them and credit hire organisations (CHOs) for more than 20 years. The Court of Appeal has given guidance about calculating the basic hire rate (BHR) which favours the Insurers.
The detailed Court of Appeal Judgment in Dimond v Lovell [2002] 1 AC 384 and House of Lords sequel Lagden v O’Connor [2003] UKHL 64 comprehensively identified the issues and gave guidance as to how they were to be tackled in the lower courts. However Insurers and CHOs have been trading punches ever since.
The Insurers failed to land the killer blow that would have knocked out credit hire for good in 2009. In Copley v Lawn [2009] EWCA Civ 580 the Court of Appeal found that failure to accept a defendant’s offer of a “free car” was not failure to mitigate. The Insurers appeared to be on the ropes when the Supreme Court refused them permission to appeal...
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A Budgeting Lesson Learnt - Laura Meyrick , John M Hayes
12/04/15. Coulson J and the case of CIP Properties (AIPT) Ltd v Galliford Try Infrastructure Ltd & Ors continue to provide guidance on the implementation of Costs Management Rules. The most recent instalment highlights the importance of producing a reliable and accurate Costs Budget.
In October 2014 it was held that, regardless of the limits placed on Costs Management by CPR 3.12(1)(a) (currently a value of £10m or more), the Court has an unfettered discretion to order Costs Management.
In February 2015 the case came back before the Court and Coulson J, following the parties filing Precedent H Costs Budgets as a result of the previous judgment.
By way of background, the claim arises from alleged defects and is being heard in the TCC. The Claimant issued proceedings against the Defendant, the main contractor, with the value of the claim pleaded at approximately £18m. The Defendant subsequently issued third party proceedings against various sub-contractors.
The Claimant’s filed budget totalled over £9.2m, with incurred costs of over £4.2m and anticipated costs of over £5m. This was in...
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More Articles...
- Rad Hamed: Club Breached its Duty - Diane Rostron, Linder Myers Solicitors
- Director’s Liability for Lack of Employer’s Liability Insurance - Douglas McGregor, Brodies LLP
- Future Developments in RTA Claims, Reducing Fraud and Costs - Andrew Mckie, Clerksroom
- Low Cost Arbitration Instead of Expensive Civil Justice? - Matthew Chapman, 1 Chancery Lane
![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)
