May 2015 #135 – Law Journals

Motor Insurance: Please can I join the party?

John McDonald of 2TG considers the vexed question of whether one insurer can challenge another insurer’s avoidance of a motor policy ‘Proceedings for a s152 declaration are usually brought under the accelerated CPR Part 8 procedure on the basis that there is unlikely to be a substantial dispute of fact as to non-disclosure or misrepresentation …

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Arbitration: Settling personal injury and clinical negligence claims

With court fees going up more than 500% the time has come for insurers, the NHSLA, the MIB and personal injury firms to use arbitration to settle personal injury and clinical negligence claims, suggests Andrew Ritchie ‘The benefits of arbitration are multiple. All of the inefficiencies and the court fees of the county courts and …

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Costs Sanctions: Every loser wins

The courts have once again punished a wholly successful party in costs for their unreasonable refusal to mediate – a trend that is only likely to grow, writes Ben Handy ‘The judge found that there were reasonable prospects that mediation would have succeeded, at least in part. The defendant was not justified in coming to …

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Costs: The small claim that roared

Paul Jones gives a warning on the importance of weighing the value of a claim against the possible costs ‘The difference in costs payable for a small claim and the costs payable for a normal claim are substantial and it is, therefore, often worth it for the parties to argue the point.’ Arguments regarding small …

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Credit Hire: Defendants in pole position as Court of Appeal gives objective test for basic hire rates

Patrick West looks at the latest guidance from the Court of Appeal on basic hire rates in credit hire cases ‘The key issue for the parties in such cases will be to ensure they have a credible rates survey before the court to persuade it that their rates are more representative.’Not for the first time …

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Injury At Work: Old vicarious liability rekindled

Nathaniel Caiden summarises a case that brings attention back to the employer-employee relationship in liability claims ‘The fundamental question in whether to impose liability is whether the “wrongful act is sufficiently related to conduct authorized by the employer to justify the imposition of vicarious liability”.’ Recent case law on imposing vicarious liability seems to have …

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Case Report: Montgomery (Appellant) v Lanarkshire Health Board (Respondent) [2015] UKSC 11

Patients’ rights; doctors’ duties; consent test ‘Patients should no longer be viewed as uninformed, incapable of understanding medical matters, or wholly dependent upon a flow of information from doctors.’The appellant, Nadine Montgomery, sought damages on behalf of her catastrophically injured son, Sam, born on 1 October 1999 at Bellshill Maternity Hospital, Lanarkshire, alleging negligent care …

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Non-Delegable Duties: Where next after Woodland?

Philip Turton assesses the effects of the recent clarifications in non-delegable duty case law ‘In the time since Woodland, lawyers have already started looking to other classes of vulnerable persons who might also be protected by such a duty.’ Liability which is imposed without fault is at odds with most cases encountered day to day …

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