September 2012 #108 – Law Journals

Reform: General damages on the up – Simmons v Castle

Peter Houghton considers the consequences of implementing The Jackson Report’s recommendation Sir Rupert felt the increase would ensure that claimants were properly compensated for their injuries and that their damages were not unduly eroded by legal fees.Unlike the assessment of damages for loss of future earnings, which has been bedevilled by the publication of Ogden …

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PI Blog: Advocate’s advice

Bill Braithwaite QC examines the problems that can arise with Roberts v Johnstone calculations and potential solutions Both the Law Commission and the Civil Justice Council have expressed concerns about the Roberts v Johnstone formula. There seems to be quite a lot of discussion at the moment about accommodation claims, and the formula we all …

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Burden Of Proof: Loss of chance

Suzanne Farg and Verity Danziger discuss the hurdles to overcome to establish a claim The importance of factual and expert industry evidence cannot be underestimated and, in this case, the quality of the factual evidence was vital in allowing the claimant to bring his loss of earnings claim fully. The method by which the courts …

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The Discount Rate: Damages

A sign of movement in the discount rate saga takes the form of a Consultation Paper, inviting those with an interest in personal injury claims to respond by 23 October 2012. Andrew Sands and Nick Leech analyse the dual approach that the Consultation appears to be taking. If the methodology is changed to considering returns …

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The Extent Of Insurance Cover: The ‘wrong’ type of use

Richard Scorer and Malcom Johnson consider insurers’ liability for sexual assaults in a motor vehicle The term ‘arising out of’ still excludes the use of the vehicle being causally concomitant but not causally connected with the act in question. Could sexual assaults/abuse taking place in a motor vehicle lead to a damages claim that would …

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Costs: Reversing the normal rule in CPR 36

Paul Jones looks at the latest case concerning Part 36 offers The defendant’s case was that there was no reason to depart from the normal rule and, in particular, to apply the normal rule would not be unjust in all the circumstances. Of all the provision of the Civil Procedure Rules, CPR 36 has generated …

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Case Report: JGE v The Trustees of the Portsmouth Roman Catholic Diocesan Trust [2012] EWCA Civ 938

Test for vicarious liability; cumulative approach All three judges agreed that priests are not employees, and that there could be no question of an ‘intention to create’ any legal relationship. In JGE v The Trustees of the Portsmouth Roman Catholic Diocesan Trust [2012], the Court of appeal, by a majority of two to one (Ward …

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Detailed Assessment: The provisional assessment pilot scheme: going 20% wrong

Matthew Hoe assesses the teething problems that may arise from rolling out the programme nationally ‘In a provisional assessment, the judge must now find his way through the minefield of costs without the assistance of an advocate. The probability that he will reach substantially correct decisions is diminished.’ The county court provisional assessment pilot scheme …

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